Zeus apple
by skiing Pelican
Summary: Gabriel has his own ways of "helping" the Winchester brothers and a certain other angel. A story where the boys have to put up with the overly productive fantasy of Gabriel. Dean/Castiel slash;
1. Prologue

**the garden**

**Title**: Zeus Apple, prologue: the garden

**Author**: skiing_pelican

**Rating**: PG 13 (some swearing)

**Genre and/or Pairing**: Dean/Cas, implied Sam/Gabriel or friendship if you're not into Sabriel

**Spoilers**: character spoilers for all mentioned; set somewhere in late season 5 but spoiler free

**Warnings**: crack; nudity? (leaf-in-front-of-intimate-parts-nude)

**Word Count**: ~2000 for this chapter

**Beta:** by lefty_spit. Thank you, honey!

**Teaser**: Gabriel has his own ways of "helping" the Winchester brothers. One more cracky story where the boys have to put up with the overly productive fantasy of Gabriel. Dean/Castiel slash.

**Authors note: **

I'm reworking my first supernatural story, where I tried my hand at a fluffy cracky fun story. To ease back into writing again, and to finally finish this I'm reworking this for continuity and simply becasue I know the boys much better by now. There will be a total of 9 chapters to this story.

I'm accepting promps for this story. There are two more "challenges" I need to write. Please review and let me know what you think about this craziness!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything besides their skirts.

/-/

Sam and Dean were seated across of each other in a beautiful garden. Dean's hands looked as if a burger had been held in them only a moment ago. He looked up slowly from his hands, right up to Sam who was looking at him with the same confused expression.

"Dude! You're naked!" was the first thing that came to Dean's mind.

Sam looked down his huge body, frowned and looked at Dean.

"Speak for yourself," he pointed out, brows furrowing.

Dean looked down at his own body. He was completely, stark naked. Except for a wine leaf covering his most intimate parts.

"Where are we? And why are we playing Adam and Eve?" he exclaimed, instantly regretting what he'd said. There was just too much wrong with this thought and he blatantly not looked at Sam.

"I don't know. Maybe it's Gabriel again." Sam mused.

"I hate that angel." Dean swore under his breath, standing up to get a better sight.

"Didn't you say you like his style?" Sam asked.

"Not when he's dicking around with us. Not funny."

Sam stood up and joined his brother, taking a look around. "So... we're in paradise. What are we supposed to do?"

"Maybe eat the damn apple? You remember when Gabriel wanted us to play our roles?"

"Could be." Sam said, "But it's not like him to stage the same play two times."

"Let's check it out." Dean suggested.

They wandered on, wondering at the beauties of paradise. It wasn't only a garden like they had expected. Paradise had a bit of the beauty of every place on earth. One moment, they stood on a beautiful glacier, looking across the glen to see the snow glitter in the sun on the next mountain top. Then, Dean was thinking about something else and they were standing in a beautiful desert oasis, with palm trees and a fountain.

"Paradise is better than the stories make you think." Sam mused.

"Paradise my ass. We're trapped here."

"Just let's find the apple tree." Sam said, smiling. His brother might be bitching because they were trapped, but Sam enjoyed seeing the wonders of this place. He was still aware of their situation at the same time, knowing they had to get out.

The next moment, they were standing in a fruit garden. Pear, plum, cherry and apricot trees surrounded them and the evening sun was shining softly trough the well tended branches. Sam and Dean strolled along the lines of the trees.

"No apples." Sam said with a light frown.

Dean looked more than pissed. "If this is paradise, where are all the beautiful virgins?"

Sam chuckled. "Wrong paradise, Dean. Hey, you think we could take a look at the olymp?"

And they were standing on clouds, ancient Greek architecture everywhere around them. The clouds were made of a downy white. They sunk in a little bit with every step, but the cloud carried their weight. It felt like stepping on cotton.

Suddenly, Sam grabbed Dean's arm. "Did you hear something?"

Dean raised his head and listened. There was soft music coming from far away. It sounded a bit like harp tunes. They took off in that direction, finding the old Greek gods laying on typical chaise lounges, complete with togas and white beards, laughing together and drinking wine.

"Now, that's creepy." Sam said.

"Look at the women." Dean smirked, his grin spanning from one ear to the other. "Hera, Aphrodite, and whatever the others are named... Now that's what I call paradise, Sammy!"

Sam frowned. "I don't think it's a good idea to get in the pants...ehm, toga of one of the Greek goddesses."

"Who said one?" Dean grinned back and strolled down, Sam following close behind him.

The impressive figure in the middle of the gathering saw them first. He was a bull of a man, with huge muscles, an old face and eyes that twinkled with mirth and wisdom. Although his face and his long white beard spoke of age, the skin spanning over his muscles looked young and fresh. All in all, he looked like... well... Zeus.

"Hi!" Dean said, still with the big grin on his face. "I'm Dean, and that," he waved in Sam's direction, "is my brother Sam."

"You have finally found us." Zeus rumbled, his voice deep and impressive, going through every bone in the bodies of the hunters.

"I am sure you know who we are, as we all know you. You have come here for the epic challenges, have you not?"

"The epic challenges?" Dean repeated dumbly, the grin finally slipping from his features.

"You will have to complete seven of the old challenges to prove your worth. If you succeed, you will receive the apple, your way to go home."

"And if we don't want to do those challenges?" Dean inquired.

"Then you will stay our guests in this place forever. Now come, join me for food and drink." The mighty arm gestured at two comfortable chaise lounges right next to him. Between them stood a small, round stone table, covered with a large bowl of fruits, a plate with sheep cheese, pita bread and wine.

"Just a moment." Dean demanded and turned around to Sam.

"What do you think, Sam?"

"I don't know." Sam shrugged, looking at the gods. "I think it's best to accept their offer and see if we find out more."

"This Zeus... do you think it could be Gabriel?"

"I don't know..." Sam pondered, "Wouldn't Gabriel have some sweets around? I mean, grapes are good and sweet, but Gabriel is more the chocolate and cherry kind of sweet."

"Right. Well, one way to see." Dean nodded.

They turned around to Zeus and went into the gathering and sat down on the offered chaise lounges.

"Thanks for your friendly offer... Zeus." Dean said with a forced smile on his face. "One last question. It probably isn't one of your powers to magically provide some clothes, is it?"

Dean blinked. Zeus had only flicked his fingers, and he and Sam were wearing a white toga and sandals, Greek style.

"Thanks." both offered, nodding to their supporter. Zeus just smiled and made another inviting gesture at the food.

Dean tried some pita bread and sheep cheese. It was much better than he expected, the cheese spiced with olive oil and various herbs.

"God, Sam, you gotta try this! I didn't think something that's not pie or burger could be so good!"

Sam just directed one of his bitch-faces at Dean. Trust Dean to stuff himself with suspicious food.

"You don't trust me." Zeus stated and a rumbling laugh escaped his throat. He didn't seem offended by it at all.

"No, it's not that I don't trust you." Sam stuttered. He didn't, actually, but he knew it was probably a bad idea to offend the greatest of the Greek gods.

"You do not." Zeus interrupted him, "But I don't mind. It would be foolish of you to trust me."

Sam watched Dean, who still seemed quite alright and reached for more of that delicious cheese. Hera walked by, setting two wine glasses filled with red wine in front of them and taking a seat next to Zeus on the same chaise. Dean stared at her. She was beautiful, blond hair, young body, smiling face and a wisdom in her eyes that seemed to be infinite.

Sam bumped his elbow into Dean's side. He was more than glad that Dean was not gaping.

"She's a bit outta you're league, don't ya think?" he whispered into Dean's ears.

"Oh yeah." Dean replied, his eyes still fixed on the beautiful goddess.

But a new arrival tore Dean's eyes away from Hera. He landed in the middle of the circle, surrounded by a surge of bright white light that came from within him, huge white wings flapping at his back as his feet touched the clouds. His body was lithe and wiry, only covered by a short, white Greek-style skirt around his hips, white sandals on his feet and a golden band around his head. But Dean would recognise this ruffled, dark head and the intense blue eyes anywhere, as surely as he noticed that a certain tan trench coat was missing.

"Cas?" he exclaimed.

"Dean." the Angel replied gravely.

"Hermes, hand me the challenges." Zeus rumbled.

Castiel fixed his eyes fixed on Dean and opened his mouth to say something. Quite disturbed, he closed it again as nothing came out of it. He went to Zeus and handed him a scroll, fixing his gaze once again on the Winchester brothers.

"It's good to see a familiar face." Sam offered.

Castiel nodded. Zeus ignored them while reading the scroll, as he ignored that they called his errand boy by a different name.

"Cas, do you know who's behind all this?" Dean asked.

The Angel nodded, still unable to say anything.

"Gabriel?" Sam asked.

The Angel nodded once again.

"Should we put up with these stupid challenges?" Dean inquired.

Castiel slightly tilted his head, his eyes travelling around, unsure. He looked somewhat lost. His eyes sought Dean's again and he shrugged slightly.

"He doesn't know." Sam frowned.

"Great." Dean grumped, ruffling through his hair. His eyes landed on the Angel once again. It was the first time he saw more of Castiel's body than just his head and his hands. But now, he found himself with more than an eye full of naked skin, the really short skirt hanging dangerously low, exposing sharp hipbones, and those gorgeous, huge white wings shifting relaxed behind his back.

"These wings look nice on you, Cas." Dean suddenly blurted out and regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth.

Sam eyes widened in surprise.

"Seriously, Dean? Did you just compliment Cas on his wings?" he laughed.

"It's true!" Dean insisted, an embarrassed blush creeping into his cheeks. He didn't know where that came from. Damn his impulsive mouth. Sam was still laughing about it.

"Shut up, Bitch!"

Castiel only glanced at his wings as if they were the most normal thing in the world. Which they probably were to him. He turned a searching stare at Dean with his angelic blue eyes, head tilted and lips parted only that slight little bit. The stare felt as if Castiel was trying to look right into his soul. Which he probably was.

Zeus cleared his throat, thereby regaining their attention.

"It is time for the first challenge." his rumbling voice announced. "Hermes, you will watch over them, and be the herald of their return if they survive."

Zeus seemed to be completely unaware that the winged Angel was not his messenger, but... whatever he actually was to Sam and Dean.

Dean just gulped.

"Are you ready?" Zeus asked.

"As ready as can be." Sam mused.

Zeus flicked his mighty fingers, and they were gone.

/-/


	2. first challenge

They appeared in the middle of a party. Not a party as Sam and Dean knew it, but people were celebrating, that was for sure. Pretty clear was also that they were not in their time. Sam and Dean curiously looked around, taking in the simple clothing and clay walls.

"Where the hell are we?" Dean asked.

Sam crinkled his forehead. "This seems familiar." he murmured.

"Oh yeah?" Dean prompted, curiously looking up at his brother.

"Yeah, I think I have seen a picture of this somewhere." Sam continued.

"Where?" Dean wanted to know.

Sam's face lit up as he finally remembered. "I stumbled over a picture of this scene when I did some research for a case. It was a wall painting in an old tiny European chapel. Did you know they painted bible stories on the walls of their churches 'cause people back then couldn't read?"

"Well, that's cool, but where are we?" Dean ignored, not really interested. Sam could be such a geek.

"See the pair over there?" Sam asked, nodding to his right. "I think they are a bridal pair. This is the wedding where Jesus worked his first wonder."

Dean's eyebrows almost hit his hairline. "And what does Zeus, or Gabriel, or whatever want us to do here? And what was that wonder?"

"They ran out of wine, so Jesus turned water into wine." Sam explained. "But I've got no idea what we are supposed to do."

"Great." Dean murmured. "Let's find Jesus, it's gotta be him!"

They searched the room, boxing their way through dancing bodies and singing crowds. Those people sure knew how to party. Dean saw more than one pair standing in a corner, kissing like Dean was sure they weren't allowed to kiss before marriage. He lost Sam at some point, but he didn't care. The room was not too big that he couldn't reach Sam if something was happening. The whole thing didn't appear dangerous, but he still had his guard up.

He passed by some tables where people were eating like it was a freaking orgy, hands and bodies covered with sauce and wine stains, digging their hands through the food and messing with it. Dean knew he wouldn't take a bite from these tables, even if he was starving. No way, dude. One of the guys licked some sweet paste from the belly of a woman. Dean had no problem with people who knew how to party, but this was disgusting. He just couldn't imagine Jesus having fun at this party.

Sam passed his way. Sam was gritting his teeth, slowly freaking out thanks to everything around them. Dean hid his own disgust behind a fake smile.

"Hey dude, don't look over there, you don't want to see it." Dean suggested with a mischievous grin. Of course, Sam automatically looked in that direction. He gulped hard, covered his eyes with his hands and moaned, pained.

"Thanks Jerk, that picture burned right into my retina!"

"Told ya so." Dean said, now really grinning. "Great party, isn't it?"

Sam gave him the worst bitch face he could manage. Dean chuckled. "Okay, I'll finish searching this corner, you go look for Jesus someplace where people are more decent."

A loud moan of pleasure distracted the brothers. The girl with sweet paste on her belly seemed to enjoy her treat. Sam flustered, nodded his agreement to Dean and escaped through the dancing crowds as fast as he could shove people to the side. Which was actually quite fast, nobody wanted to get trampled down by a moose.

Dean grinned to himself, shaking his head. Sam was such a girl. But he also avoided the table with the food orgy, even if the moans coming from that direction where hard to ignore. He found a group of people he had not noticed before sitting on comfortable cushions around a shisha. Although they seemed drunk or high or whatever, they seemed pretty decent in comparison to the rest of the party. Dean observed them for a short moment and wanted to move on as he heard someone say Jesus.

"Yeah?" the guy in charge of the shisha answered.

"Buddy, I heard we will be sitting on the dry pretty fast." the first guy continued.

"No, I don't think so." Jesus answered with a big grin on his face. "We still have those little babies." He moved a rug from the crate next to him and revealed several bottles.

Dean decided this was his cue. He sat down on the pillow in front of Jesus and bent forward.

"Hey dude, there's a lot of water in front of the house. We could really use some good red wine."

Jesus looked up at him, a big smile spreading on his face. "Sorry bro, but red wine sucks, don't ya think? Better have a sip of this great stuff."

Jesus offered him a small glass with a yellow liquid. Dean sniffed first, but drowned it without hesitation. He grimaced at the unexpected sweet taste.

"Caramel... vodka?" he asked incredulously. That stuff shouldn't even exist here, but somehow everything about this place seemed off.

"Yeah!" Jesus laughed. "Great, isn't it? It's a present from my buddy. Since I've tasted that, red wine can stay away from me."

"Hey, come on, dude, don't be a dick. Your two friends need you. Make a bit of red wine for all here." Dean tried to coax him.

Jesus seemed to consider, looking at the crowds. "You know what buddy?" he asked Dean, "I think it's better for them if I don't. Right now, they are right on the flow". He made a roving gesture with his hands, "If they drink more, it will trip them over the edge!" He looked at Dean with concerned, wide open eyes. "You don't want to ruin a great party 'cause people start to throw up all around. And for guys like us," He paused to fill some caramel vodka in Dean's glass, "who are still much too sober, we still have these sweet babies."

Dean looked at the glass of caramel vodka. This was going to get harder than he thought. Ignoring his disgust at girly drinks, he drowned the glass. After all, it would be easier to convince Jesus if he was playing along.

/-/

Sam in the meanwhile had made his way through the dancers, ending up in the corner where the band was playing. There was more space here since people didn't want to bump into the band.

"Hey Sammy!" a familiar voice said.

"Gabriel!" Sam exclaimed angrily. The archangel was broadly grinning at him, leaning against a wall with a piece of wedding cake in his hand.

"Nice party, isn't it, Sammy?" Gabriel said chuckling.

"What do you want from us, Gabe?" Sam demanded bitchy.

Gabriel chuckled. "It's Gabe now? Well, I like it. But Sammy, Sammy," he said, sighing and slowly shaking his head, "why do you two boys always think it's about you?"

"It's not?" Sam asked. "Then why are we here?"

"Well, maybe it's a bit about you." Gabriel pondered. "But my main mission is about someone else."

"And who would that be?"

"Think, Sammy. Use that cute little brain you've got. Who's here besides you?"

"Cas..." Sam caught up. "But what do you want with Cas?"

"Well," Gabriel explained, "you know, I always had a sweet spot for this little brother. I was around when he was created. All the other angels think he's just a nerd with a stick up his ass, but they don't know him like I do."

"Yeah, that's real sweet of you Gabe, but still, what do you want us to do? And why the challenges?"

"You," Gabriel pointed a finger at Sam's chest, "are here 'cause you and your brother are a good influence on him. Especially Dean."

Sam chuckled. He couldn't believe a word Gabriel was saying. "You gotta be joking. Dean a good influence on Cas?"

"Of course! Little Cas needs to learn to live a little! But he never listens to me, so I brought you two along."

Sam crossed his broad arms in front of his chest. It was when he realised he was still wearing the toga. Not that any of the party people had noticed his strange appearance.

"So, you are basically saying our challenge is to get Cas to party?" he asked incredulously.

"The wine, Sammy", Gabriel said. "But don't tell Dean I gave you a tip, 'cause he could think you're my favorite."

Gabriel wiggled his eyebrows suggestively then he was gone, leaving behind a very confused Sam.

/-/

Sam pushed his way through the crowd again, looking for either Dean or Cas. His size helped him, it was easy to look over the other people. He still didn't catch sight of Castiel, but he found Dean sitting in front of a shisha. He boxed his way to the side of his brother.

"Dude, what are you doing here?" he asked. The guy with long brown hair and a big, high grin on his face offered him a glass of yellow liquid.

"Just drink it." Dean said, holding his own glass in his hands. They clinked the glasses with their host, and the brothers drowned it. Sam grimaced.

"Dude, seriously?" Sam grinned, "Caramel vodka?"

Dean passed him one of his shut-the-hell-up looks. "It's a girls drink, I figured you'd like it." Dean teased.

Sam frowned. There was no way he would admit to his brother that he really liked it.

"What are you doing here?" he asked instead.

"Whadda'ya think I'm doing?" Dean asked, leaning closer to Sam because he didn't want their host to hear his next words, "I'm working. I'm trying to get Jesus-mother-fucking-Christ to turn water into wine."

Sam's eyes widened in a fan-ish way and he stared at their host. "That's Jesus?" he whispered flabbergasted. But Sam had no time to marvel at Jesus. Jesus seemed to have much better hearing than they both expected, even in his inebriated state of mind.

"How dare you insult my mother?" he growled. Nothing the brothers ever experienced prepared them for the weirdness of an angry Jesus, so they just stared at him. Dean didn't even know Jesus could be angry, let alone this intimidating. But here stood the son of God, with eyes glowing so angry it was freaking Dean out.

"Hey, sorry dude, I didn't mean it that way, really!" Dean stuttered.

Jesus leaped up, forcing Dean up at his collar and punched him in the face. The blow was so hard, it lifted Dean into the air and he flew right through the next window. Sam jumped up to follow his brother. Jesus seemed to be satisfied and sat down, laughing with his friends as if nothing had happened.

Dean landed in the hard dust of a desert street. An unmanly yelp escaped his throat at the impact.

"Dean!" a rough voice exclaimed. The man was over him in a second, checking if Dean was ok.

"Hey Cas." Dean smiled weakly. His body was hurting, but besides that everything seemed to be ok. He was lucky and only got a few bruises. He didn't notice that his smile grew bigger, almost into a dumb expression as he looked up to see that Cas still wore nothing other than the Greek stuff. The white wings were hovering at his side, not folded behind his back but also not fully unfurled, encircling Dean like a shield.

"Dean!" Sam exclaimed. He had finally made it out of the nuthouse and shoved one of Cas's wings aside to get a look at Dean. Somehow, Dean regretted that Sam did that, and he did not know where that thought came from, but he was way too much out of his mind to notice.

"You ok?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I'm ok." Dean said, tearing his stare away from Cas. He hadn't noticed that he had been staring at Cas. Cas only tilted his head and continued staring. It was impossible to tell if the angel deemed it unusual. Staring at people was one of Castiel's hobbies anyway, so why should he waste a thought about it?

"You must be in shock." Sam commented on Dean's stupid grin.

"Maybe it's just funny to be punched by Jesus." Dean said. He took Sam's offered hand, who pulled him up.

"Why would Jesus do that?" Castiel asked confused.

"'Cause I insulted his mother," Dean explained.

"Dean, that's blasphemy. Why did you insult Maria?"

"I didn't mean to. It just happened, ok?"

"Do not insult her again," Cas growled.

Dean stared back at Cas more than a little surprised and a bit intimidated. Cas was about the only being who was able to intimidate him, and judging by the way Cas spoke he was completely serious about it. Cas could speak calmly with his deep, deadpan voice, and it would frighten Dean more than a pack of hell hounds, or even more than angry Jesus. Here he stood, this gorgeous being with innocent white wings, but still scaring the hell out of Dean.

"Hey, Cas, keep cool. I didn't mean it!" Dean tried to cool the angel down. He really wasn't feeling comfortable in his skin right now. Sam stood by, pacing from one foot onto the other, clearly agitated, but too intimidated to get himself between the fronts.

"I believe you." Cas deadpanned.

Dean felt a load dropping off his shoulders and released a breath he didn't realise he was holding.

"Cool." he said, patting Cas' shoulder carefully. He was feeling incredibly dumb right now. Cas only looked up to him with his thousand-yards-stare. Nothing had changed in his posture since his growl.

"Hey, we should get back on track." Sam exclaimed in an attempt to break the tension that still hung in the air. "Cas, were you standing out here the whole time?"

Cas turned his gaze to Sam. "Yes. I didn't want to stay in a place of iniquity."

Dean and Sam exchanged a glance.

"Well, uh... that's not important right now." Dean stuttered. "Sam, you have a plan?"

"Yeah, I have an idea." Sam said. His eyes fixed on Cas. "Cas, you see those water barrels behind you?"

Cas turned around and nodded.

"Turn them into wine."

Dean looked confused at Sam. "Dude, that's Jesus trick!"

"Gabe doesn't stick to the rules, so why should we?" Sam asked.

"Gabe?" Dean asked, staring incredulously at his brother. Sam crossed his arms and ignored Dean.

Cas went to the barrels and looked at the water inside. "If you think it will help." he murmured and extended his hand over the water. The liquid turned red in an instant.

Sam in the meanwhile had gone into the house to grab some cups. He handed each one of them a cup.

"Gabriel sent us to a party, so I think what we are supposed to do is party."

"Okay." Dean said. That was a challenge he could live with.

Cas looked at his cup confused. Dean took it out of his hand and filled it with wine.

"I hope it's ok if we party here," Dean said to his brother, "'cause I'm afraid Cas would faint if we expose him to all the iniquity in there."

"Yeah, I think it's ok." Sam nodded grinning.

Cas curiously held his wine under his nose. It smelled good.

"Hey, you gotta say cheers before you try." Dean instructed him and clinked his cup against Cas'. Cas watched with his confused head-tilt and Dean had to grin about it. Sam also extended his cup, and it took Cas a moment to understand before he clinked his cup against Sam's.

"Cheers." Sam smiled.

The three men tried the wine. Dean almost choked on it in surprise. He was not the kind of guy who drank wine, but hell, this was the best drink he ever had.

"Cas, your wine is fantastic!" he exclaimed.

Cas nodded slowly, appreciating the taste on his tongue.

"Yes, it is not bad." he admitted.

"Why have you never told us you can do that?" Sam asked.

"Because I can't." Cas explained.

The three men sat down next to their very own wine barrel, drinking and exchanging stories. The fight between Cas and Dean was fast forgotten, and the wine had its impact on all of them. Cas was no exception this time. Something in this weird place made him react like all others. Cas opened up the more he drunk, telling them stories about battles he had fought long ago and missions so old even the bible didn't remember them. What the brothers didn't expected was that Cas was cuddling up more and more against Dean the more he drank. But in the inebriated state they were in, they didn't care. Especially Dean, who quite enjoyed it, to be honest. To tell the full truth, he even encouraged Cas by laying an arm around the angel and drawing him closer. Dean didn't know why he did that, but he was too inebriated and oblivious to care. They were happy and content, forgetting all the loads life had laid on their shoulders, just enjoying each other's company without any second thoughts.

As they finally dozed off to sleep, Cas was curled up against Dean, his head resting on Dean's shoulder, Dean's head resting on his, with arms wrapped around each other and wings closing around them. Sam's form was lying sprawled across the street and deeply snoring.

/-/

Sam was the first one who woke up. He sat up and noticed they were back on the chaise lounges of the olymp. Zeus was lying on his own chaise, and he appeared to be taking a nap. Sam rubbed his temple, trying to recollect what had happened. The first thing he noticed was that his head was not hurting at all. It appeared Gabriel had some mercy after all. Then he remembered the drinking session with Cas and Dean.

Slowly, he turned his head to the other chaise lounge. The two other men were laying on it, cuddled up against each other like they fell asleep. A big grin spread on Sam's face. The two just looked too cute. Dean had his arms protectively wrapped around Cas and Cas had his wings protectively wrapped around Dean. Sam found himself wondering if it was hard to find a comfortable sleeping position with the huge wings.

Dean stirred and slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed were wings all around him. The second thing he noticed was Castiel laying on him. And the third thing he noticed was Sam's huge grin.

"Don't say one fucking word!" he warned his brother. Flustered, he disentangled himself from Cas, careful not to wake up the angel. He wasn't ready to admit to himself that Cas laying on him had felt really damn good.

"Why is he sleeping anyway? Thought angels don't sleep." he grumbled in an attempt to cover his embarrassment.

"Maybe you're a good pillow." Sam suggested mischievously.

Dean sent him a deadly glare.

"Dude, seriously," Sam said to cool his brother down, "angels don't get drunk either. We are in some kind of weird Gabriel fantasy, nothing that happens here is for real."

"Yeah, right." Dean responded. Sam was right, but Gabriel's fantasy didn't change the fact that his or Cas behavior was real. This was the real Cas, and he had cuddled up to him with free will. But Dean chose to ignore this and decided it only happened because they were drunk.

Cas woke up. He stood up and stretched himself, a small moan escaping his lips. And for Cas, stretching himself also meant fully spreading his wings. Dean's eyes were instantly glued to his chest, and that little sound of Cas' made his stomach knot. Sam didn't notice Dean's stare because he was also impressed by the sight, but not in the same way Dean was. Sam was impressed in his geeky, fan-ish way.

"I didn't know that sleep feels this good." Cas said to the brothers. He seemed oblivious to the stares, and if he remembered anything about what happened, he didn't show it or he wasn't embarrassed about it.

"Maybe you should try it more often." Dean suggested and it sounded much too suggestive than it should in his own ears. What the hell is wrong with me? Thankfully, that little detail was completely lost on Castiel. But not on Sam who sent another gleeful grin in his direction.

Zeus finally woke up. He stood up and also stretched himself. He was taller and broader even than Sam, and his muscles wiggled like the muscles of a body builder. But Zeus mighty figure did not impress Dean, who was still trying hard not to stare at Cas. Sam was a little impressed, but only because Zeus had more muscles than he had, and that made him a little bit jealous. After all, Sam didn't train so much because he didn't appreciate the looks.

"So, you completed the first challenge?" Zeus' deep voice rumbled over them.

"Yeah." Dean answered, thankful for the distraction that helped him to finally tear his eyes off Cas, "But seriously, what kind of challenge was that? Partying a little? Drinking wine?"

"It is an art to appreciate good wine." Zeus said with a twinkle in his eyes. "You should know that the choice of challenges is not mine. Are you ready for the next challenge?"

"You wanna share a few details with the rest of the class first?"

"I cannot."

Dean glanced at Cas and Sam. Sam shrugged. "I'm fine, might as well get over with it."

"Ok, we are ready." Dean said.

"I wish you luck." Zeus said. He flicked his mighty fingers, and they were gone again.


	3. second challenge

**dirty dancing!**

**Title**: Zeus Apple, secong challange: dirty dancing

**Author**: skiing_pelican

**Rating**: PG 13 (some swearing)

**Genre and/or Pairing**: Dean/Cas, implied Sam/Gabriel or friendship if you're not into Sabriel

**Spoilers**: character spoilers for all mentioned; set somewhere in late season 5 but spoiler free

**Warnings**: crack

**Word Count**: ~8300 for this chapter

**Beta:**

**Teaser**: Gabriel has his own ways of "helping" the Winchester brothers. One more cracky story where the boys have to put up with the overly productive fantasy of Gabriel. Dean/Castiel slash.

**Authors note: **

****Important: I am currently revising this story. This chapter is not yet beta'd. Please check in later to read the final version!****

This chapter has soundtrack. Listen to "time of my life" at the end of the story. You'll know when to cue it.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything besides their skirts.

Dean appeared in front of a dancing class. Everything seemed vaguely familiar, even the music. The girls where already looking at him expectantly. The girls where a hint - He knew this style. This was the sixties!

"Ok Girls, we do something else now", he announced to the girls, rubbing his hands together. He had no idea what he was supposed to do, and he was still dressed in that awkward toga, but if he had to teach a dancing class that was what he was going to do. Even when he had no ideas of dancing at all. He decided on the first and only thing that came to his mind.

"Just stand and bend your knees a bit. Keep your body relaxed. Now bounce a bit on your heels... just bounce."

He watched his students as they mirrored his movement. He felt very awkward himself, but he hid it behind his poker face. He had to show them something.

More than one student was much to tense, obviously feeling awkward with what they where doing.

"See how your whole body moves? That's what dancing is about." Dean flashed one of his trademark smiles at the girls. "It's not about some steps, and you can't do anything wrong, just move your body and have fun with it."

Dean tried to sound confident, but in reality he was just telling them a load of bullshit. Some of the girls relaxed a bit, feeling more comfortable with what they where doing.

"Great." Dean announced after a while, "I think this is enough for now. But you girls got some homework. Keep bouncing when you walk - it's a great exercise."

Dean was delighted to see that some of the girls really kept bouncing as they walked out, their cute little asses wiggling up and down. A big smile plastered itself on Dean's face.

"Dude!" Sam's voice called his attention. Sam already had his forehead wrinkled up in amusement as he walked up to Dean.

"Hey Sam." Dean greeted as he finally turned to his brother. "Cas!" The angel was standing next to Sam.

"Did you enjoy the lesson?" Dean grinned.

Sam frowned. "Some of the girls bitched at us so we had to join"

"Really? I didn't see you!"

"We where at the back. But I can tell you something, Cas has no talent at all."

Dean turned to Cas, laughing. "Really? You joined in? You?"

"Sam told me I am required to. You seem to be an apt teacher, Dean."

Cas spoke monotone, his eyes staring at Dean like always.

"Thanks, Cas." Dean smiled. His instinct told him his remark should sound more sarcastic, but it didn't matter.

"Well, you have an idea where we are?" Sam asked.

Dean's attention was back on his big little brother. "Yeah. We're in dirty dancing!" he exclaimed more than a little excited in his fan-ish way.

"Dirty dancing?" Sam frowned, his brows furrowing.

"Yeah. Look at the chicks. Sixties. Listen to the music. Mambo."

"How do _you_ know what's a mambo?" Sam asked, an incredulous smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Ok, so I've seen the film a few times with some chicks, but I'm not a fan."

"Right." Sam said, smiling and frowning at the same time. This was so typical for his brother.

"Well, that could explain why some of the girls called Cas Baby" Sam pondered.

"They called him baby?" Dean exclaimed, staring with wide eyes at Cas. "You're baby?"

"I am not a baby" Cas deadpanned, but he glared at Dean.

"No, you're not, it's a nickname. It's simple, Cas." Dean explained. "You're baby, and I'm..." Dean wrung a moment with the realization that he had to play lovebirds with Cas, Cas out of all possible options. Couldn't it be some random hot chick?

"The dude who is the dancing teacher." Sam supplied.

"... Johnny Castle. We're in a film, and I have to teach you how to dance."

"Why?" Castiel asked.

"'Cause that's what the film is about." Dean claimed. About that, and the epic love story...

"Very well." the angel complied. Castiel didn't seem to enthusiastic about the situation. Sam grinned.

"Well, I'll leave you two to it" Sam said, turning to the exit.

"Wait, where are you going, you gotta help me with this!" Dean called out for him.

Sam turned and flashed him a broad smile. "Hey, it's your turn Johnny. You're the dancing teacher."

Sam headed out.

"You'll not get out of this one so easy, Sam!" Dean yelled after him. He turned back to the angel with an exaggerated sigh.

"I will follow your lead." the angel stated matter-of-factly. Dean smiled weakly.

"You gotta learn mambo. I hope you have more talent than Sam claimed."

Dean looked the angle up and down nervously. That was going to be awkward.

Dean decided to go somewhere where nobody would be bothering them. Also, it would be better to teach basic things before using music. As he knew the vicinity, he knew just the place. He dragged Cas to a green spot next to a beautiful lake. He was still nervous about the whole situation, but he wouldn't admit it. He sincerely hoped that this really was about dancing.

"Ok, Cas," he said, "You'll have to get this stick out off your ass."

Cas tilted his head, eyes narrowed in a confused frown. "I don't have a stick up my ..."

"Ok, forget it. You remember what I said back at the class?"

"Yes. I am required to bend my knees and bounce on my heels."

"Ok, do it."

Cas did as instructed, but his whole body seemed incredibly stiff. It seemed more like a robot making knee bends, with both arms hanging down limply at either side. He looked at Dean unsure, knowing exactly that he wasn't doing anything right.

"Cas, you gotta relax." Dean smiled. In moments like this, he could only be fond of the angel. He went around the angel and poked him in his bare back.

"Here." he said. "Stick up your ass."

"I don't understand." Cas responded, his frown deepening.

Dean smiled. "It's a figure of speech, Cas. You're stiff." Dean looked at the angel for a minute, pondering.

"Maybe we should keep this lesson for the music. Let's try the steps."

He took a step forward and grabbed Cas hands, positioning their hands to the standard dancing position. Cas hand felt warm and soft in his, and Cas held onto it tightly. There was still more than a foot of comfortable distance between them and Dean planned to keep it that way. He was already feeling funny and something tugged in his belly. Dean had never danced in his live, but he had seen the film often enough to know exactly what he was doing.

"You're the woman." Dean grinned. "Ok, mirror my steps." he instructed, and slowly demonstrated the steps. Cas stared down, concentrating hard and following each of Dean's steps. He recognised the pattern after a while and started moving with Dean instead of after him.

"You've got it?" Dean asked.

"I believe so."

"Ok, then stop looking at your feet."

Cas looked up, right into Deans eyes. As Dean moved again, he bumped into Cas. A very confusing shiver rolled down his spine.

"You gotta keep dancing!" Dean complained. "Ok, lets try again."

He straightened himself, looking into Cas eyes and giving a sign with a slight nod of his head. Cas stepped back correctly, but his step forward collided with Deans leg.

"Ouch!"

"How do I know where to go if I'm not allowed to look down?" Cas complained.

"I don't really know." Dean confessed. "But I know it works somehow. Lets try again."

Castiel stepped forward, closing the distance between them until their bellies were nearly touching, completely ignoring Dean's personal space rule. Dean tried to ignore the funny feeling that got stronger in him. Cas grabbed Deans hand again, laying his other on Deans shoulder. He was standing so close that Deans legs moved between his as the hunter made the first step. Their bare thighs brushed against each other, heat spreading from the contact and rolling through Deans whole body. Dean was more than a little surprised not only that the dance worked, but also at his bodies reaction. Through the connection, Cas feet had no other possibility than to move in the right direction. Dean could easily push Cas around, even bring him to make new movements and it worked. It felt like manhandling Cas, and that thought even turned him on more. Castiel kept staring into Dean's eyes the whole time, and it was hypnotizing. Dean felt a heavy blush creep up to his cheeks, the friction of their thighs was sending more waves of heat through his body. Castiel was so close that he could even smell the other man. It felt pleasant, and that was weird enough. He was still staring into those blue depths, and he found himself unable to move back although a voice in his head screamed at him: _What the hell are you doing?_

That was, until Cas's body brushed against his growing erection. Dean snapped out of it, suddenly realising what was wrong with him and pushed Cas away, murmuring something along the lines of "I need a dip in cold water." He turned his back to Cas as fast as he was able and fled into the lake. His face felt hot, his ears burning and he could hear his blood pumping in his ears. His heart was racing. He tried to get rid of the built up energy with charging forward in the ice cold water, trying to erase the swirling thoughts in his brain. He didn't know what to do, what to think. He had never felt anything towards another man before, and this was confusing like hell. But Cas was different. Cas was important to him. And he knew he was very important to Cas, even if he didn't understand how a celestial being could possibly see so much worth in his tiny broken being. He couldn't deny the fact that he felt something for Cas anymore, it was too bluntly obvious. But he didn't know what to do. He could barely accept the feelings for himself. He didn't know if he should act on his feelings. He didn't know if Cas could return his feelings in the same, human way, or if he would allow himself to. He was confused, frightened and didn't know what to do. Some part of his head kept screaming that it was wrong because he was not gay while the other part wanted to grab Cas tight and kiss him senseless.

Angrily, he pushed more and more water until he was exhausted. He stopped and turned to find that he was in the middle of the lake. The water was icy, so cold that the cold creeped up into his tired bones. But Dean Winchester didn't give up so easily. He swam back, his eyes fixed on the far shore. He couldn't see Cas there, where he left him. He suddenly felt terrible for storming off without any explanation. What would Cas think now? What if Cas felt the same as he did and felt rejected? What if he had seen what was happening to Dean and didn't like it? What if he had no clue at all?

The cold of the water was piercing into his muscles. He stroked as hard as he could, but he seemed rooted to the spot, as if the current was dragging him back to the middle of the lake. His arms and legs hurt, but he ignored the pain and fought. He looked at the far away shore. It was still out there, out of his reach. He didn't get any closer. His body felt heavy and limp, growing more exhausted with each stroke. Panic suddenly swell in his chest. He knew he could die out here. He always thought he would get killed on a hunt, not on a meaningless chase away from his own emotions. But he got himself into this, with his stupid chase away from Cas. Now all he wanted was the angel to be with him.

His body suddenly felt weightless as something lifted him up, out of the icy water. He heard the noise of huge wings beating above him and looked up to see Castiel. The angel carried the larger and heavier frame of Dean against his chest effortless. Dean rested his head against the angels chest, closing his eyes confident. His angel had saved him once more.

They reached the shore with only a few strokes of the wings. Castiel laid him down on the grass carefully, lifting his head up to look into Dean's eyes.

"Are you all right, Dean?" the angel asked with obvious concern in his eyes. Dean could only smile softly.

"I'm ok, thanks. Only a little cold and tired."

The angel picked him up again. "I'm bringing you back. You need a warm place where you could rest."

Through the clouds of his tired and nearly-drowned head, Dean remembered that he was Johnny Castle and he had his own hut. He gave Cas the rough direction before passing out in his arms. He was so exhausted that he couldn't even freak out over being carried like a princess in Cas' arms.

Sam was wandering around the place, aimlessly searching for something interesting. This time, everything was completely up to his brother. He didn't know the movie very well, and he certainly didn't know a lot about dancing. And sure as hell he didn't want anything to do with Dean and Cas dirty dancing. He knew Dean wasn't a dancer either, not counting the horizontal tango, but he believed Dean would figure something out.

He finally laded at a nice open aired bar, sitting down on one of the stools and getting himself something to drink. He used the opportunity that Dean couldn't tease him about his taste and ordered a cocktail. The waitress didn't ask for money, and that was just fine by him. Sipping on his tequila sunrise, he watched the people, until a dark haired beauty caught his eyes. She went straight to him in a bee line, sending him a stunning smile. She was an exotic beauty, and her playful eyes golden seemed somehow familiar.

"Hi." Sam smiled at her.

"Hi." she smiled back. She took the tequila sunrise right off his hand and sipped on it, fixing Sam with a suggestive smile. Sam smiled back, ordering another drink and trying not to be flustered to much by the saucy beauty in front of him.

"What's your name?"

"You gotta earn that" she smiled.

Sam fidgeted. "Well, I'm Sam" he said, trying to sound causally.

"Sam..." she breathed. "A beautiful name"

Sam flustered up considerably. "Oh...thanks. So... uh...you're here with somebody?"

She chuckled. "Not really, no. No rival. My brother is here somewhere. But..." she said had a thoughtful smile, "he is having a good time by himself right now, so I ended up alone."

She frowned a little, but she blinked it away within an instant. "And you? Are you here with somebody?"

"No!" Sam exclaimed. "Oh... well... actually I am here with my brother and one of his buddies, and they are somewhere... But, really, I don't want to be pinned to them the whole time."

"Perfect." she smiled. Sam couldn't stop to blush.

"You know, this place is boring, but I know somewhere to go".

Sam couldn't say no to those eyes. Maybe it was because they still seemed vaguely familiar. Maybe it was because he had not had a girl in a while, and this one was throwing himself onto him. But she was carrying herself with so much self confidence and self respect that she didn't appear like one of those cheap girls that Dean used to pick up at all. He felt special and chosen.

Dean regained consciousness in an unfamiliar, but yet somehow still familiar room. Cas must have managed to find Johnny Castles hut. As he gazed around confused, he saw angel sitting next to him. Cas hurried up, pinning him back on the bed and tugging the sheets up.

"Stay and recover." the angel ordered with his familiar raspy voice. Dean sank back into the sheets and watched Cas standing up to get him a steaming cup of coffee. When the angel got back, he helped Dean up and handed him the cup.

"Thanks, Cas, I'm fine." Dean said, eagerly taking the cup of coffee. "You're an angel, you know that?"

Cas tilted his head confused. "Of course I know that."

Dean chuckled, glad that Cas didn't understand this way to sappy endearment as what it was. "No, not an angel like them... they're dick's."

Dean only confused Cas more. But He had a more important question.

"Dean," he asked, "why did you endanger yourself?"

"'Cause I'm stupid."

"That is not an answer."

Dean sighed. "Cas, please let it go. I won't do anything like that again, ok? I promise!"

Cas watched his every move, staring at him with those soul-piercing eyes.

"I believe you." he finally said.

"Thanks." Dean felt his cheeks blushing again. He suddenly noticed his toga hanging somewhere in the room to dry. The blush turned into a red heat on his cheeks.

"Cas, you stripped me?"

"Of course." the angel said calmly, "You where wet and freezing."

Dean stared for a second, but had to turn his head away in embarrassment. He knew the angel probably pulled it off by only touching two fingers to his head, but somehow pictures of Castiel stripping him and rubbing him dry where manifesting in his head.

"Dean, what is causing your distress?" the angel asked frowning confused with that head tilt of his.

"Dudes shouldn't get stripped by other dudes."

"I don't understand the problem. I reconstructed your body, I know every cell of it."

"Cas..." Dean pressed out, "shut up"

Castiel narrowed his eyes, still staring at Dean in a useless attemp to understand the hunter. Thankfully, he didn't inquire any further.

"As you wish." the angel complied.

Dean was feeling to warm in that bed. He had to get out of it. "Cas, please leave for a second."

The angel was gone with a flutter of wings. Dean sighed heavily. He jumped out of that bed, trying to calm down. Since the toga was the only thing around, he shoved it over his head before stepping out. Cas was waiting at the front of the door. He was looking as if he was about to say something, but he kept it to himself. The sun was setting, red light touching everything in a romantic haze.

"I have to get a drink, and I just happen to know the place." Dean announced.

Sam's eyes almost dropped out of his sockets as the exotic beauty led him into the inconspicuous building hidden between trees. The music was loud and people where moving everywhere. It was crammed more than at the wedding, and this time, people where dancing dirty, very dirty. The beauty grabbed Sam's hand and dragged him to the middle of the dance floor.

_What the heck_, Sam thought. He was also allowed to have some fun from time to time, and he didn't object a sensual beauty dancing with him.

Dean grinned as he entered the party house and headed straight for the bar, Cas following on his heels. A tiny voice in Dean's head said maybe, just maybe it was a bad idea to bring Cas here. But he needed a drink, and he knew he would get a decent one here, no children shit. He sat down at the bar and ordered two glasses of whisky. The barkeeper didn't ask for any money as he places the glasses in front of Dean, and it was ok with Dean who just realised that he had no money and no credit cards.

Dean was surprised at Cas who was clinking his glass to Dean's.

"So you picked up something from our first challenge." Dean smiled.

"Thank you for the drink, Dean."

"Oh, you're welcome. They're free, you can have as much as you like."

Cas only nodded, nipping at his glass. His eyes where dark and he frowned as he observed the room.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Dean asked concerned.

"I do not understand why we are here." Cas frowned.

"It's Gabriel." Dean answered, "He is probably pulling this crazy shit on us 'cause its so funny!"

"I don't believe that." Castiel's head turned back to Dean, meeting his gaze. "Gabriel might have an odd sense of humor, but he always has an ernest intention behind what he is doing. It's his way of teaching. He explained to me that humans only understand something if you show them, not if you tell them."

"You know your brother better than I do." Dean admitted. "But I have no idea what this crazy shit could be about. Let's just swing with it until we see him or find out how to get out."

"There seems to be no other way." Cas confirmed.

"But why should he pull you into this too?" Dean asked.

"I don't know." Cas admitted. "I am also concerned about it. He is keeping my abilities restricted, I can't do everything I used to."

"He is so much stronger than you?" Dean asked with sympathy.

"He is an archangel, Dean."

Dean sighed. It was true, this crazy trickster was one of the most powerful beings in the whole world. He could only be glad that Gabriel preferred playing with him instead of smiting him. Dean drowned the rest of his whisky and slammed the glass back on the bar. Cas was still looking down. It tugged at Deans heart, he didn't like seeing the angel sad. He wanted to see him happy. Dean decided to do something very stupid and didn't care about the consequences anymore.

"Come on Cas, I'm gonna show you what dancing is really about."

Sam had not had so much fun a long time in his life. His dance partner was gorgeous, she knew how to move her body. She leaned back until her head almost touched the ground, completely trusting that Sam was holding her, and the next moment she was up again, wrapping her legs around his as she wound her body around him. Sam surprised her one or two times by lifting her light weight up, making her laugh. In the few times they took a break he also discovered that she was a very smart woman. She knew a lot, and even if she preferred joking around, she stunned Sam with intelligence and insight on more than one occasion. The only thing that bugged him a little was that she kept calling him Sammy. Sam took her back to the bar because he needed a longer break this time. He already knew she had a sweet tooth, so he ordered something sweet for her and something more manly for him. She already knew he also enjoyed girly drinks, but it was a natural for Sam to keep pretending. Thanks to his brothers and bobby's constant treatment, he also liked whisky.

"I'm glad that you're here." the beauty confessed smiling, "It's fun chatting with you. You're smart, I like that."

Sam blushed heavily. He was happy that it was dark, so she couldn't see it too much. "Thanks. But you're not bad yourself."

"I know." she smiled. She played absently with the red umbrella from her drink as her gaze drifted over the dance floor, as if searching for someone.

"What's the matter?" Sam asked.

"Oh, it's nothing." she breathed, "I only saw two friends... but I can greet them later." A happy smile spread on her lips, "I shouldn't disturb them now."

Sam laughed. "So two people found another?" he looked at the dance floor and back at her again. "That's great."

"Yeah!" she said.

Suddenly, something popped up in Sam's head. "Wait, you said you where here with your brother, not some friends. And you told me this is your fist day, so you couldn't have made any friends by now."

She narrowed her eyes, but her smile even grew. "Why, aren't you smart." Suddenly, the air shifted and a man was standing in front of him. Sam knew now how he knew those golden eyes.

"Gabriel!", he exclaimed angry.

"Oh, don't look at me like that, Sammy!"

"You were playing with me!"

"Oh, come on Sammy, we were having a good time!" Annoyingly, the archangel still played with the red umbrella from his tequila sunrise.

"But... you pretended to be a woman!"

The archangel grinned suggestively. "I can be all you want"

Sam threw his hands up in embarrassment, running them trough his long hair in an attempt to calm himself down. Gabriel was chuckling at him.

"You're sweet when you're embarrassed, Sammy."

"I'm tired of your games, Gabriel!" Sam exclaimed. "Why are we here?"

"I told you already. Cas has to learn a few tricks." Gabriel was serious now, and his gaze drifted to the dance floor and back to Sam again. "Dean is doing fine teaching him dancing."

"And why am I here? Obviously, Dean is the one with the connection to Cas, and he can teach him this stuff. I'm not needed here!"

Gabriel smiled. "You're part of the family, Sammy. And you are also Cas friend. I know Dean would go berserk if you're not here, so I had to keep you around. And besides, you have earned a little vacation. Enjoy it!"

"I can't enjoy this if you're pulling tricks on me." Sam huffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Ok, Sammy, no more tricks." Gabriel held up his hands in a defensive gesture. "But you have to tell me, I was one freaking hot woman!"

Sam bitch-faced him.

"No?" the archangel asked, charging puppy-dog-eyes at him.

Sam frowned. "Ok, yeah. But that wasn't really you."

"It was as much me as this body is, Sam. You know it's only a vessel."

Sam sighed. What could he say against that kind of logic?

"And besides," Gabriel continued, a smile still plastered on his face, "I was planning on telling you before you get me laid. I'm not that evil!"

Sam rubbed his face with his hands in terror. He really didn't need that image. "Please, Gabe, just drop it, okay?" he begged.

Gabriel chuckled. "Ok, will do. No hard feelings?"

Sam sighed deep. "No hard feelings. But I'll kill you if you pull any more tricks like that."

Dean led Cas to the middle of the dance floor. Cas looked around them with wide eyes, staring way too obvious at the moving buttocks everywhere.

"Dean, are you sure we should be here?" he asked, and the only time Dean had ever seen him so flustered was the moment when he introduced him to Chastity.

"Come on, everyone is just having a good time." Dean grinned.

Dean wrapped his arms around Cas, still not able to believe he was really doing this. With Cas. But it felt right, better than anything before in his life. He silently admitted to himself that he wanted it. Wanted to be with Cas, looking out for him and cheering him up when it was needed. Like now. It was funny, a few hours ago, he couldn't wrap his head around it, but now he suddenly felt so sure about it.

"Look into my eyes."

Dean didn't need to say it twice. Blue orbs where instantly glued to his greens, searching for guidance in this confusing situation. Dean pressed him close and began to dance, moving his hips in circles, forcing Cas to move with him. Dean could see even more confusion in Cas eyes as he made this adorable head tilt again. Warmth spread in Deans stomach at this sight, flowing trough his whole body, setting all his nerves on fire. He enjoyed the friction of Cas body against his own, the shivers it sent up and down his spine.

Castiel was getting more confident and comfortable with the situation. It was still confusing, and he didn't know where this was going, but he liked it. Dean didn't need to force his hips to move anymore, they pressed up against Dean by free will, following his movements. The music was carrying him on a wave of energy, possessing him, moving his body like it wasn't his. Cas felt his heart and breath speed up, electricity flowing through him, spreading from every touch. It felt intimate and sacred in its own way, like this moment belonged to them alone. He didn't concentrate on anything else than every fiber that was Dean.

A small part of Dean asked himself if Cas was realising that they where having sex on the dance floor or if he still thought this is a dancing lesson. One could never know with those oblivious angels. But the largest part of Dean didn't ask any questions, didn't think at all, lost in the music, the movement and Cas.

Dean's hands traveled over Cas body. Dean thanked all of those olympic gods to get a short skirt for Cas. He allowed himself to marvel at Cas body. His hand reached one of Cas buttocks and Dean couldn't resist squeezing it hard. Cas growled throaty. The noise made Dean's stomach flutter and he looked up into Cas eyes again. Cas was looking at him with this intense stare, eyes dark, as if an old predator instinct took over the angel. Suddenly, Cas took hold of Dean and leaned him back, slowly tracing his nose over the hunters body as he pulled him up again. Dean's heart raced like it had never raced before.

"Now you got the idea." he laughed lightly into Cas ear. Dean suspected that Cas had copied the move from one of the other pairs, but the way he did it... it was messing with Dean's head. Dean tried to press closer to Cas, if that was even possible. He rolled his hips against Cas once more. Sparks of electricity spread as what could only be an angelic erection brushed over his. The Angel moaned, and when Dean looked into his eyes again and saw the large, dilated pupils, he knew Cas was definitely also having sex on the dance floor.

A small part of Dean remembered Cas still was a virgin and that he would drag Cas out into the wood and do very inappropriate things if they didn't stop this soon. If this had been any nice random girl, that was exactly what would have happened, but this was Cas. Cas deserved something better. Cas deserved the whole thing, with dates and proving his worth to him and everything. Dean had no idea where this serious thoughts came from and they frightened him, but at the same time, he knew he wanted to do things right for once. Dean grabbed a fistful of dark hair to force Cas to face him. It wasn't really necessary, since Cas was staring at him anyway, but Dean still had the urge to do it. Dean leaned in and rested his forehead against Cas with a deep sigh.

"Cas, we've gotta stop this now."

Cas pulled back and looked Dean with the biggest puppy dog eyes he had ever seen in his life.

"Why?"

Dean sighed once more. He brushed with his thump affectionately over the stubble on Cas jaw.

"'Cause if we stay here, like this, I'll jump you fore sure."

Cas tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"Why would you want to jump me?" he rasped.

Dean laughed lightly, took Cas hand and pulled him out of there.

"I'm only doing this for you."

Cas still looked disappointed. As soon as they where out of a house, Cas stopped. Dean had no chance do drag the angel any further, so he let go of the hand and started in the direction of Johnny Castles hut.

"Ok Cas, I'll hit the bed. See you tomorrow." Dean announced, betraying his urge to stay with Cas and knowing that he had to put a lot of distance between them.

"Dean, wait!"

Dean stopped and turned back to Cas slowly. Butterflies attacked his belly and rummaged in him, no matter how hard he tried to ignore them.

Castiel walked up to him, once more invading Dean's personal space. Dean could feel the angels hot breath on him.

"I do not understand what is changing between us." the angel said solemnly, his blue eyes never moving from Dean's face, "But I know that I don't want you to leave."

Dean swallowed hard.

"Dean."

His name hung in the air heavily, the single word expressing so many emotions. The angel tilted his head, looking at Dean with deep, concerned eyes.

"Why are you afraid, Dean?"

Dean was stunned into silence.

"I want to do things right, just this one time." Dean admitted, stuttering through gritted teeth when he finally was able to speak again. He sincerely hoped this chick-flick-moment would end soon.

The soul-staring, concerned gaze was still drilling into him. Cas head tilted even a bit more when he spoke again.

"You think you are not worth it." the angel breathed, as if answering his own question.

Dean stared. The words hit right into the basement. He hadn't even realised that himself, how could the angel know?

"Stop saying things like that or I will bang you right now." Dean said half jokingly, half defensively. Cas moved his hand up, unsure what to do, how to express his emotions to the hunter. He settled for laying his hand on Dean's chest, looking unsure into the hunters eyes. Dean looked down at the hand, up at Cas wide open eyes and down those ever so slightly parted lips. He covered Cas hand with his own, slowly curling his fingers around Cas's. He laid the other hand at Cas's neck and pushed him close to place a soft, lingering kiss on Cas's lips. Cas was surprised, didn't know what to do as Dean's tongue delicately brushed over his lips. Dean pulled back to look into Cas eyes. Cas had shut his eyes, and when he opened them again they where full of so much longing it hit right into Dean's gut.

"You'll get more where that came from." the hunter whispered quietly. His whole body was bursting with all the built up tension, but at the same time, he was afraid. He was doing this for Cas, he reminded himself. Cas was worth it.

"See you tomorrow." he said, forcing himself away and going without a look back.

Cas stared at the retreating back. There was so much he didn't understand. He wanted Dean to stay with him. But the hunters promise was enough to keep him warm.

Dean shot up from the bed with a terrified expression the next morning. He blinked and needed a few moments to take in his surroundings as he realised where he still was. Moaning tiredly, he rubbed his temple. This was the weirdest dream he could remember, and a cold terror was still sitting in his bones. The dream had started nice at first... It had been a nice, average, sexy dream, until the angel girl stripper in front of him suddenly changed into Cas. Dean had a lot of fun making out with his angel, and soon enough, clothes stared to fly around. Dean remembered an image of slinging Cas blue tie around him and pulling him close with it. But from that point, what started as an incredibly hot dream suddenly got weird and finally turned out to be a horrific nightmare. Dean continued to pleasure Cas, and the angel clearly wanted it, but instead of giving pleasure he hurt him, whatever he did. Dean got more and more terrified, and tried to comfort the angel, but each touch, each little attention hurt the angel more. But Cas still stayed and they continued, both desperate to have _good _sex with each other. But it only got worse and worse and worse...

Dean didn't remember what exactly he did wrong in his dream. It was all to blurry. He shook his head, trying to shake of the fright that still sat in his bones. It was only a dream. He had locked away his thoughts from gay sex, to terrified by it and the dream was obviously a product of his terrified subconscious. He had no clue how it was done, and Cas surely knew even less. He really didn't want to hurt his angel.

Someone knocked on his door. Dean jumped off the bed, grateful for the distraction and slipped into his toga.

"Come on in, it's open!"

Sam appeared.

"Hey, how is it going?"

"Fine. I totally enjoy being trapped here, Jerk."

"Bitch. I meant the dancing. Today is the big evening"

"Cas is not that bad actually. It'll work out." Dean admitted, thinking back to the roll of Cas' hips against his.

"Really?", Sam asked this time, smiling wide. "He doesn't move like a robot anymore?"

"He got the hang of it at some point." Dean relpied briefly.

"You need any help?", Sam asked curiously.

Dean considered. Sam's presence would be very awkward. But at the same time, it might keep him from groping or drooling on Cas. But still, it would be _very_ awkward.

"No, I can handle things. Where have you been anyway?"

"Oh, just strolling over the place. You know what, this is the closest to a real vacation I know!"

Dean frowned. "Glad you're having such a _fucking _good time."

"Jerk", Sam bitched. "I hope you can pull this off today. I'll be around somewhere when you need me."

With this, Sam left.

Dean found a quiet dancing studio in one of the buildings where he could exercise with Cas. The angel was clinging onto him the whole time, disrespecting Dean's personal space every time he stepped up to him and stealing touches at every opportunity. Dean had to smile about it. He would never admit it, but he didn't mind anymore.

It was actually fun doing this with Cas. He wasn't a dancer himself, dancing had always been something for the chicks, but Cas was amazing. He was dancing like he was fighting, getting from zero to sixty in no time. He had a great body control, and since last evening, he also knew how to use it. It looked like Cas was the teacher and Dean the student, by the way how awkwardly Dean moved himself. Dean knew how to groove when he was in the mood, but steps and special moves where a whole different thing. Dean was glad Cas had to make the more difficult moves.

Dean was surprised that the lesson came and went without him going crazy over Cas. Yes, Cas moving around him was damn hot, and the way he kept staring at him the whole time melted something in him, but he still had the dream lingering somewhere in the back of his head.

They stopped moving again, after Cas had repeated perfectly the move Dean had shown him in his not perfect I-have-seen-it-on-TV kind of way. Dean moved to the music player and paused the music. Cas stood calm on the spot, watching Dean closely, waiting for more instructions. Dean mulled over all he remembered from the film, but he didn't remember anything they had not tried yet.

"I think we're done."

Sam was meanwhile strolling around some more in the vicinity. He had no idea what to do with his free time. As he passed the bar where he met Gabriel yesterday, he found a familiar, long haired head.

"Hey Sammy!" the figure greeted before he could possibly have seen him. The archangel turned around, smiling at Sam.

"Do you enjoy your stay?"

Sam shrugged, but since he had nothing better to do he sat down next to Gabriel.

"Hey Gabe. Yeah, it's nice so far." he muttered, but it didn't sound convincing.

Gabriel ordered an tequila sunrise and passed it to Sam, and they started chatting about all different kind of things, very much like the day before when Gabe was still the exotic beauty. Sam actually enjoyed chatting with Gabriel. The archangel might be a douchebag and half the things he said could not be taken seriously, but Sam soon found out that he had some very serious and strong opinions on things. Sam figured someone could not be around as long as Gabe and don't learn a few things. It was too easy to forget he was an archangel, if you look at his behaviour and not at his powers.

They stayed at the bar, sipping drinks and joking around for much longer that Sam expected. He had completely forgotten time when Gabe stood up with a grin on his face.

"We have to go watch the show!" he announced with anticipation.

Sam jumped curiously from his seat at once. He had no idea what to expect, but he knew he had to see it.

Sam and Gabe found a table at the end of the hall and sat down on it. From there, they could see the over the heads of the seated people without problem while still staying in the back. Two comfortable pillows suddenly appeared in Gabriel's hands, and he handed one to Sam with a satisfied smirk. Sam suddenly saw a bottle of champaign and two glasses appear between them. He could only shake his head.

"You're a nut, you know that?" he grinned.

"Only trying to enjoy life, that's all." Gabe replied nonchalantly. He poured some champaign in the glasses and handed one to Sam, a grin plastered to his face once more.

"Thanks." Sam grinned back. He had to admit, hanging out with the archangel had it's perks.

The lights went down, and Sam's eyes where glued to the stage as the music began to play. He recognised the song after the first few chords.

_Now I... have the time of my life..._

Cas was standing on the stage with his usual staright pose, hands hanging at his side. But much to Sam's surprise, Cas did not look awkward at all. His gaze was determined, confident and completely calm. Dean appeared and laid his hands around Cas waist. Sam already had to grin.

"This is going to be good." Gabe chuckled next to him.

Cas suddenly leaned back, bending his body so much that his head almost touched the ground, moving his body from right to the left in one fluid, lascivious movement. His eyes locked with Deans as he pulled up again. Some girls and boys where already screaming in the back. Dean and Cas turned around, never leaving the eyes of the other. Dean now stood behind Cas. He moved Cas left arm up and slowly trailed his fingers down along it. Cas was leaning back against Dean, his head resting against Dean's shoulder, their noses so close that they where almost touching. Sam could not believe his eyes, and he could not hold back an awkward chuckle. The two seemed completely lost in each other. There was so much tenderness bluntly obvious as Dean's fingers touched Cas. Dean's hand reached Cas abdomen, holding him there as the other hand entwined with Cas.

The music started up with more speed and Dean pushed Cas into a fast swing, Cas short toga flying up. Sam could only gawk as they started dancing, moving as if they where one of a whole, perfect steps and swinging hips, always searching the eyes of each other. There was so much tension in each movement, so much passion in their eyes... and Cas was actually smiling!

Cas swung around again, and as he moved back against Dean they actually stood there for a short moment, gaping at each other before Dean remembered and pushed Cas into another turn. When Cas rotated back to him, he was laughing, and Dean had to hold and steady him for a moment. But they continued, and every step was where it belonged.

"Dean is so gonna get it." Sam murmured, still flabbergasted and more than a little terrified. He could not avert his eyes, even when they rocked their hips against each other at one part of the dance. Sam could not grasp the smug look on Dean's face that seemed to say: _You're mine_. Next to him, Gabe was laughing out loud.

"Go Cas!" he squealed in delight, "Show them how it's done!"

To Sam, he added proudly "I didn't think Cas would go off like this. Whoooho! He's a rocket!"

Dean picked Cas up, Cas extending his legs to either side as Dean turned with him. The girls screamed and Gabriel hollered. Sam was still gaping like a fish out of the water.

Dean jumped off the stage and danced his way between the seats, macho-attitude clearly written all over his smug grin. As he reached the back, the screaming girls and boys stared dancing with him, mirroring his movements as they all danced back to the stage again. Cas was standing on the stage, calmly waiting and dancing a little, a soft smile still on his face as he watched Dean's movements. The boys and girls danced to the stage, helping Cas down and it looked as if he flew of the stage. He ran toward Dean, who was waiting for him on one knee and pushed the angel high up over his head. Cas unfurled his wings as he jumped up, stretching them wide open and causing screams in ecstasy from the audience. Dean lowered him down and hugged him tightly.

Dean had never felt so good in his whole life. He didn't want to let Cas go, and the happy smile on the angels lips was melting his soul.

"Dean," Cas rasped next to his ear, "the lyrics of this song... they express your impact on my life."

Dean swallowed, wheels turning slowly in his head as he translated from fancy to english, and the result was what he first thought it was. He was overwhelmed by the confession, not trusting his voice or his brain very much anymore.

"Let's keep dancing." he said, unable to think of anything more intelligent. Cas smiled up to him happily, content with dancing. The boys and girls around them started to get people from their seats, soon the whole room was dancing. Gabe jumped of the table.

"Come on Sammy, lets join the fun!"

Gabe pulled Sam's huge Sasquatch body off the table effortless. Sam was a bit flustered at first, but the alcohol from drinking a whole day with Gabe made him careless and he thought... _what the heck, why not. _

Dean and Cas danced some more, encircled by other moving pairs around them and they suddenly had it all for themselves again, shielded from sight by other people, like last evening. Not that they had cared about the audience at any point before. They ended up dancing in some corner, as Cas suddenly surprised Dean by pushing him against the wall. They marveled at each others eyes for a moment before Cas moved up slowly, pressing a soft, lingering kiss on Dean's lips. Dean moved his hands down and pressed Cas close, curling his fingers into the back of the other man, kissing him back, savoring all the innocence from that soft, inexperienced mouth as the kiss depend. Cas wings fluttered and moved up, unfolding a little to shield them from the sight of anyone else.

Sam could not say how long they danced as he and Gabe sat down on some chairs exhausted. Well, Sam was exhausted, Gabe pretended to be. Sam knew exactly that a little dancing would not exhaust an archangel. Gabe smiled.

"I think Cassie passed this challenge." he grinned and flicked his fingers.

Sam was back in the olymp again. He saw a bundle of wings next to him. Cas moved them to the side slowly, revealing a startled Dean. Sam tried hard to look oblivious. He was still shocked, but after watching this dance it wasn't unexpected to find them like this.

Zeus clapped his hands together, and all the other greek gods joined in the applause. Hera smiled at Dean and Cas fondly.

"You know Zeus, we should keep them for our theaters!" she suggested.

Zeus laughed rumbling, holding his belly as he did so.

"Brilliant idea, but I'm afraid that's not possible."

To his guests he said: "Tell me when you are ready for the next challenge. You may relax here as long as you need."


	4. Interlude

**Title**: Zeus Apple, first interlude: woodstock

**Author**: skiing_pelican

**Rating**: NC 13

**Genre: **Humor, crack

**Pairing**: Dean/Cas, implied Sam/Gabriel or friendship if you're not into Sabriel

**Spoilers**: character spoilers for all mentioned; set somewhere in late season 5 but spoiler free

**Warnings**: crack, language, heavy abuse and butchering of mythology and pop culture;

**Word Count**: 6100

**Teaser**: Gabriel has his own ways of "helping" the Winchester brothers. One more cracky story where the boys have to put up with the overly productive fantasy of Gabriel. Dean/Castiel slash.

**Authors note: **

First of all, I'm so sorry for the enormous long wait! I got sidetracked with other stories... But now my BB fic is sitting almost finished on my hard drive and I can concentrate on this again. Also, this is getting harder to write than I thought... a long time, I couldn't come up with something that is worthy of following dirty dancing. I'm still very unsure about this. But I have to start somewhere again. Please review and let me know your thoughts, the more response I get, the more likely it is that I get the next chapter done in a reasonable amount of time.

Also, I have started cleaning up the earlier chapters with the help from my beta, but I haven't heard from her in a long time now. I decided I finally have to post this, so this is not yet beta'd. If anyone is willing to beta for me, I'd be very happy about the help!

Anyway, chapter 1, 2 and about half of 2 are cleaned up now and I'm much more happy with them. You probably need to take a look to remember this story...

This chapter is inspired by blu_3_haze from LiveJournal who requested a band verse of some sort. I don't like band verses very much, but the prompt inspired me anyway. I decided to make something different, but still about music and bands. I hope you like it :)

Okay... this was way before my time, so please pardon me when I get a few things wrong. :) Don't sweat it!

Big thank you to my reviewers** DionysusDaughter98, alexandra101, darkphoenix2345, Mrs. Dr. Robert Chase, Hakura The-Dark-Angel and Alyson!**

Also BIG THANKS to anyone who took the time to leave a prompt. If you want to see something in this story, just drop a comment at skiing-pelican(dot)livejournal(dot)com/2866(dot)html and I'll consider it.

**Disclaimer:**

I only own their skirts.

/-/

The greek gods where in a really good mood, and Dean got smaller and smaller and his face got redder and redder while they retold details of the last challenge to each other in delight. Sam, who hadn't been around all the time listened with a gleeful grin and kept smirking at Dean, encouraging the gods to go on. Castiel sat calmly on the chaise lounge next to Dean. He didn't seem to be bothered by being the object of general mirth at all. He kept glancing at Dean, who just shifted from him uncomfortably with an angry frown. Cas face went blank when Dean shifted off, hiding his pout better than a professional poker player. Sam bitch-faced his brother. Dean's ears started to burn even more. And the gods still laughed loud over the episode when Dean fled into the lake for no obvious reason at all, nearly drowning himself in the process. Sam stared at Dean with a bewildered smirk.

"Now can we go and get the next one over with already?" Dean finally barked, loosing all of the little patience he had. He had started to drown himself in the delicious red wine served in the olymp, but it did nothing to make him tipsy.

"As you wish." Zeus rumbled, wiping a tear from his eyes. He clasped his hands together.

"Wait!" Hera exclaimed and laid a hand on Zeus arm. "They have performed so great, we should reward them!"

Zeus looked at Hera for a moment before he stroked over his curly beard thoughtfully, leveling his gaze at Dean.

"Just send us to the next fucking challenge." Dean demanded, closing his arms defensively. He so wanted to get all this shit over with. His face was still flushed deeply red from embarrassment.

The knowing smirk that spread on Zeus' face looked almost creepy.

"Hera is right." he announced, the rumble of his voice even deeper than Cas, but spiked with mirth. "This next one is not a challenge. One day."

And with this, he clicked his fingers.

/-/

They where standing on a green field, right behind a typical hippie VW bus painted in all the colors of the rainbow. Like every time they were sent somewhere by Zeus, they turned and looked around to see in which crazy shit Zeus had dropped them in this time.

As they went around the bus, the view opened to a large field. Dean had never seen so many people at the same place. Hell, he had probably never even seen half as many people in his entire life. It was more than a crowd.

There where people talking, laughing and dancing together. The air was filled with awesome music, the atmosphere buzzing with laughter and happiness. When they looked around, they could see small barbeques going, woman nursing their babies, children running around and playing, people dancing and singing to the music. Smiling and laughter was everywhere.

"Hey Sammy..." Dean whispered awestruck. "Are we in... ?"

"Yeah, I think." Sam answered, scanning the perimeter curiously, watching out for anything evil more out of habit than concern. The giant he was, he could easily see over the heads of the crowd and spotted a huge stage with even huger speakers far down on the other end of the field.

The smile that spread out on Dean's face seemed almost too blissful to be real. He smiled like he was a normal kid having christmas and birthday on the same day. His eyes where huge.

They where strolling on. There were couples kissing, smiling at each other like nothing bad could ever happen to them. Next to them, another group of people was dancing to the music. All people were dressed in the style of the time, splotches of color everywhere, even if it was only a string of beads. It started to rain lightly, but the drops where nice and fresh on this hot summer day and nobody was bothered by it.

"Where are we?" Cas asked curiously. "The people are behaving peculiar."

"Woodstock, man." Dean said, and the way he said it made it sound better than paradise. "And they're not odd, they're just havin' a fuckin' good time!"

There was a pause in the music as the bands changed on the stage. Dean listened mesmerized to the music when the new band played the first chords.

"Sammy, do you hear that music? It's awesome!" he said, eyes even bigger and brighter than before. Sam started to get worried they would pop out if Dean kept doing that.

"Yeah, whatever." Sam laughed lightly at the fanish ways of his brother. He listened to the music himself. It wasn't perfect, the singer sounded like he was on drugs and his voice broke several times. But there was something to it, the songs were performed with so much love and dedication, it was hard not to get carried away by it.

"It's not whatever! It's fucking Woodstock!" Dean exclaimed in delight.

Sam just laughed some more. It was good to see his brother happy. Sam couldn't think of this whole challenge thing as a bad thing anymore. Cas was walking close to Dean and pressing even more obviously into his personal space than he normally did, glancing up insecurely at the hunter. Dean didn't notice.

Dean started to move more deliberately to the stage now. Sam looked around, a smile on his face. The mirth of the people around was addicting, it lightened up his mood. He hadn't felt so careless in a long time. They might be in some sort of weird alternate reality, but Gabe obviously had no plan to kill or harm them, so why not just swing with it? The last challenge had proven as much. Even Cas' lips where pulled up slightly to that little almost smile of his, although he still frowned slightly at Dean. Cas just didn't get it why Dean withdrew earlier, Sam realised. If Dean didn't notice it soon, he was going to have to do something about it.

An almost naked man walked up to Dean. He only wore a linnen loincloth, it had not much less coverage than Cas' excuse for a skirt. Under different circumstances, his sight would have been highly disturbing. But, they were in woodstock and the guy was a hippie with long hair, a beard, and those funny round glasses, not some kind of sick weirdo. People like him were all over the place, and he approached Dean with a smile of genuine friendliness.

"Hey man, what're you on?" the hippie asked and took another puff of his self-rolled smoke. Sam was pretty sure it wasn't cigarette tobacco. "You've got oceans in your eyes!"

Dean blinked surprised and laughed. "Nothin', dude, just clean air."

The guy grinned and handed Dean the smoke. "Here, man. Not that you need it."

"Thanks." Dean took a good smoke and handed it over to Castiel, who eyed it curiously before taking a smoke himself. The angel seemed puzzled as he passed it on to Sam.

"No, thanks." Sam stammered.

"Hey, come on Sammy, don't be a bitch." Dean ushered him on.

"No, I... really wanna pass that." Sam insisted. "Thanks" he said to the hippie, "No offence."

Dean leaned forward and murmured conspiratorial: "He's a health nut."

The hippie just laughed. "Don't sweat it man, we're good." He winked at Sam. "You know who to ask if you change your mind." Then, he raised his fingers in a peace sign and said "We are stardust" before strolling of again.

There where some announcements while they were walking on. Someone was having a baby. Someone else was to meet someone. The rain came and went over the course of the day. Some girls headed over to the lake to take a swim, pulling off their tops while they passed.

Dean's eyes followed them, a big smirk plastered all over his face. Cas noticed and frowned at Dean, but he didn't say anything. Dean was still too busy watching the girls to notice, but Sam saw the distress in Cas' eyes.

"Hey" he whispered, leaning over to Cas. Dean was near, but he couldn't hear the whisper over the music.

"He's... just looking, you know? Doesn't mean anything. It's okay. Don't worry about it."

Cas averted his eyes from Dean, a heavy blush spreading over his cheeks as he started to study the grass in front of him intently.

Sam sighed, awkwardly patting Cas shoulder. His brother, the dork he was, was still staring after the girls. Dean finally turned around, eyes laughing and a goofy grin that was almost splitting his face plastered out on his face.

"Hey Sammy, did you see those hot chicks?"

Dean was greeted with one of Sam's finest bitch-faces and Cas intently looking anywhere than him. Cas' face was a stoic, expressionless mask, but he couldn't hide the red flush on his cheeks.

The grin dropped off his face as the implementation hit him.

Oh. _Oh!_

"Hey, what's the matter?" he stammered, knowing fully well what was the matter, and fuck, he felt his own blush burning on his cheeks. Cas still refused to look at him, and Sam only crossed his ridiculously strong arms and crumbled his face into an even worse level of bitch-facing.

"Hey, I didn't... I wasn't..." he stammered on, and fuck, he was so totally screwed.

Dean broke off as Cas' eyes where suddenly on him, scrutinizing him unblinkingly in utter disapproval.

Of course, this time he would manage to piss off Cas.

Dean fidgeted where he stood, not knowing what to say or do. On the one hand, wasn't it his fucking right to look where he want? On the other hand, there was Cas, and this thing, whatever it was, that happened during the last challenge. The look on Cas face scared the hell outta him. He had already had those incredibly chick-flicky ideas going trough his head, and Cas' stare only reminded him how completely serious his thoughts were, even if he still had problems accepting that. He didn't want to piss off Cas, but he had, and what should he do now?

Sam had never seen his brother looking so small, scared and confused at the same time like right now under Cas' glare. Sam looked back at Cas. The angel's features softened slowly as his frown turned into puppy dog eyes. Sam suddenly felt like an intruder.

"I'll just..." Sam announced then, sounding way to eager and cheerful and scurried away fast.

Dean and Cas didn't even acknowledge Sam's retreat, still staring at each other. Dean slowly walked up to Cas, still trying to find the right words.

"Cas..." Was all he managed to say. Fuck, this situation was so awkward, he wanted to run away, but he also didn't want Cas to be mad at him. The thought of Cas' being mad at him scared him much more than he ever thought should be possible.

"I'm sorry." He finally murmured, almost too low to hear, and stared down at his feet in embarrassment, his ears burning brightly red by now. Fuck, normally he didn't do embarrassment.

Suddenly, there was a hand at the small of his back and pushed him against Cas' body possessively. Their bodies pressed flush against each other, sending a pleasant tingle up and down his spine. Dean looked up again, right into Cas eyes. They looked soft now and... loving. Cas seemed to understand.

Dean didn't think he could blush more, but now he blushed for a completely different reason. Cas closed his eyes and leaned in to kiss Dean, his lips pulling tentatively at Dean's lower lip. His fingers where digging into Dean's back and he was still pulling the larger man's frame against his, not giving Dean the slightest chance to move away. Dean's hair was standing up in goosebumps, his skin was prickling everywhere, a warm feeling spreading out from every place Cas touched him, the feather light kiss taunting him for more. And fuck, why was it turning Dean on so much to be manhandled like this?

Cas pulled back again to look at him. Dean realised that nothing happened besides the short pull of lips, but it left his whole body tingling and wanting. The spot on his back felt incredibly hot where Cas' hand was still holding him. He stared back at Cas, his pupils huge and dilated, and he now slung his own arms around Cas' slender, naked chest, one coming up to the nape of his neck to grasp a fist full of this deliciously dark hair to pull him into a needy kiss. Cas opened his lips under his, openly inviting him in. Cas tasted deliciously, the shy tongue moving delicately against Dean's, which just tried to devour as much from the angel as he could. Fuck, Cas learned fast. He was a great kisser, his own tongue moving teasingly, playing with Dean's, taunting him for more. It left Dean feeling like a needy slut as the heat spreading through his whole body grew worse with each time their tongues brushed against each other. Without realising it, he was pushing himself against Cas, pressing one leg up between Cas' and his crotch against the angel's thigh. His hands started roaming over Cas body, brushing soft feathers as they passed. Cas gasped when Dean's hand reached his buttocks and squeezed hard trough the soft lightness of the white skirt, and it was all Dean could do to devour the little noise with another needy kiss.

"Dean..." Cas murmured content, his voice a deep, raspy purr as he laid his head down on Dean's shoulder and inhaled his scent with a deep sigh. Cas voice was pure sex, causing his stomach to squirm with delight from only hearing the sound. The downy whiteness of Cas' feathers had pulled closed around them once more. Dean's heart started to ache in a strange way he didn't want to acknowledge, not yet.

Suddenly, there was a thump and Cas jolted back with wide, surprised eyes, one wing flaring open. There was a ball rolling away from them. A hippie stood there, eyes wide open.

"Hey, shit man, I'm so sorry!" the hippy exclaimed.

"_Fuck!_" Dean cursed much too loud and forcefully as he got aware of his surroundings again.

He had just been sexing up Cas in front of _friggin' everyone!_

Dean pushed back from Cas, heavily blushing in embarrassment, painfully aware of the throbbing heat between his legs. Cas made a disappointed whimpering sound as Dean pushed away, and it only made Dean's head spin more.

"Sorry man!" the hippy exclaimed again, and he really sounded so. Beside the hippie and the guys he was probably playing with, no one bothered to look at them in any weird way. And the hippie still looked so sorry as if he just did the worst thing in the world.

"Nah, it's cool." Dean lied, took Cas hand and pulled him with him to get as far away from this friggin' embarrassing place as fast as possible.

After good 15 minutes of navigating through the crowd and trying to cool down, Dean felt safe enough from possible previous observers so slow down again.

"So it's only us then?" Dean asks Cas. Cas smiled back shyly, and it was endearing. Dean's heart look another leap at that.

There was a loud roar over their heads suddenly and both looked up.

"What is that?" Cas asked curiously, looking up at the huge black spots in the sky.

"Helicopters." Dean explained.

When the current song ended, an announcement sounded through the speakers.

"You may have noticed the helicopters. It's the military, man, but they're with us. They're bringing doctors. Don't sweat it, they're with us!"

The current artist started another song, and they found a nice spot to sit down and listen. Cas leaned against Dean immediately, and Dean was surprised that he didn't mind. He even wrapped an arm around Cas' shoulders, pulling him closer. Sometime during the last challenge, the closeness had become natural to them. Cas listened curiously, glancing at Dean and back to the stage again. Dean was so relaxed and happy, his eyes huge with pure joy, fully enthralled in the music. Cas could barely drag his eyes off of Dean, not that he tried. Dean was singing along happily, knowing a lot of songs perfectly.

"What are you staring at?" Dean asked with a grin as there was a short pause in the music and playfully nudged Cas. "I'm singing that bad?"

"No." the angel replies honestly, smiling back at Dean. He was content, just sitting there and seeing Dean happy as he is. "You sing much better than Sam."

Dean laughed. "Amen to that!"

/-/

Sam strolled alone through the crowd contently. This time, they didn't even have a challenge to hande. Or at least, not an obvious one. He had a growing suspicion this whole thing was not only to loosen Cas up a bit. The development was interesting, to say the least.

It wasn't as bad to navigate through the crowd as it could be. He didn't really need to shove and push. People were smiling at him, stepping out of the way voluntarily as he passed. The field opened up a bit where a group of people were sitting in a circle, and it seemed calmer and peaceful there. The place felt almost holy in a weird kind of way. There were old man, young women and even children sitting in the circle and meditating. Sam recognised the man leading the meditations immediately. Gabriel was sitting there, wearing a red bandada and short linen pants that where full with mud at the edges. His feet were bare, and the sleeveless leather vest exposed a patch of soft golden curls on his chest.

He didn't look dangerous at all, but Sam knew he was the most powerful being they had met face to face in their entire career as hunters. Also a being you could have a lot of fun with, as Sam recently discovered.

Gabriel twinkled playfully at him and gestured invitingly to the circle.

"Hey Sammy, come and join us." he said softly.

Sam smiled back and flunked down next to Gabe, crossing his long legs in the same way as all the others. He didn't reply, not wanting to disturb the meditation.

"Breathe in and out deeply" Gabe instructed their little gathering. "Yeah, that's just it. Feel the peace, man, it's in the air. Don't need nothing else, just clean, fresh air. Feel the energy."

Sam concentrated on his breath. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. If he hadn't been relaxed before, he was it now. The music and Gabe's voice next to him calmed him, shushed him deep into that tiny spot of himself that was content. And if it was odd how nice Gabe's calm voice sounded next to him, he didn't mind, too far gone.

At some point, Sam had closed eyes. Suddenly, there was Gabe's voice at his ear, whispering softly "We are stardust."

Sam's eyes flickered open, unsure if he had really heard it or if his own imagination was playing a trick on him. When he looked at Gabriel, the archangel was sitting there exactly like before, eyes closed, his body straight, calm and strong.

Sam closed his eyes again. He was confused, but for now, he concentrated on his own breathing. In, out. In, out.

/-/

At some point, Dean stood up again and wandered on. He couldn't just sit on his butt when there was this gorgeous music playing. The beat vibrated in his being, forcing him to groove. Besides, Cas was staring at him the whole time as if he was the only thing here, and it was making Dean feel funny. He was very aware of Cas' eyes on him.

Dean was leading Cas into the grooving crowd and joined the fun. The bands changed again and the next performer started with a long guitar trill.

"It can't be!" Dean exhaled awestruck, staring at the stage with huge eyes. He was doing that a lot today.

"Who?" Cas asked genuinely curious. He couldn't really tell the difference between the bands, but obviously this was something big to Dean.

"It's Santana!" Dean exclaimed in delight. The name rung not a bell in Cas' head. He glanced at the stage, but his gaze was drawn right back to Dean when he started singing along and playing on a invisible guitar. Dean was high, and he didn't even have a bottle of beer. Yeah, sure, some of the hippies offered a smoke or a sip, one group had even shared sandwiches with them. But the adrenaline and joy rushing through his system was solely caused by the awesome music, the atmosphere around them and simply being able to have a good time with Cas.

"Come on, groove with me!" Dean demanded then. It all felt so easy and light to Dean, but he wanted Cas to feel that too. Cas seemed content, but he was standing there, stiff as a board and staring at him with this wide blue eyes.

"I don't know that dance." Cas deadpanned.

Dean laughed out. "It's not a dance, just groove! I know you can do it!"

Cas tilted his head in question and observed Dean and the other people for a while. Dean looked at him, and he couldn't stand it anymore. He pushed up against Cas and slung his arms around him to hold Cas and move him with him. And fuck it if it looked gay, he was in the middle of woodstock. It couldn't look more gay than performing mambo to "time of my life". And all the people around him where not real and stoned anyway, he really didn't give a damn. It took a while, but after a while Cas relaxed against him and went with it. This was different than the last time, light and joyful moving, not the intense sex-dance with rolling hips against each other. But Cas had no idea how to move his legs. He didn't have any instructions to follow. The mambo was easy, he just needed to follow the steps. But here, he had no idea what to do and stumbled over Dean's feet repeatedly.

Dean stepped back from Cas at some point, smiling in defeat, but he didn't look pissed about it. What they had been doing had probably looked more like an awkward l'amour waltz than proper grooving to rock music. Cas didn't complain, but reached out to hold Dean close anyway.

/-/

Someone was nudging at Sam's side.

"Deeeean, Let me be" Sam complained into the grass that he was laying on, unwilling to wake up.

"I'm that good, am I?" a voice that was definitely not Dean's laughed at his side. Gabriel was, of course, referring to his skills as meditation instructor.

"Gabe?" Sam asked, rolling over onto his back and rubbing his face.

"Yap. You fell asleep."

"I'm sorry!" Sam exclaimed, sitting right up. The circle around them had dissolved, Gabe and Sam where sitting alone in the wet grass. As alone as someone could be at the biggest concert earth had ever witnessed, which meant there were still people all around them, just not right next to them. It was still trickling lightly, and Sam was wet all over from sleeping face-first in the grass.

"Come on, let's go somewhere drier." Gabe suggested.

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Sam agreed. The wet toga was beginning to feel a little cold.

They settled under a willow, laying down in the soft dry grass next to each other. Gabe clicked his fingers and Sam was dry again.

"Thanks. That was getting a bit frosty."

"No big, Sammy." Gabe waved off. "Wouldn't want to see you sick, would I?"

Sam shifted awkwardly, not sure what to do with that last comment.

"So... woodstock?" He prompted.

"What?" Gabe asked. "You expect me to spill out my big evil plan?"

"That's what you're supposed to do, right?" Sam chuckled. The chuckle came out automatically. Sam felt so easy around the archangel, it should disturb him. Especially when considering his history with Gabriel. But it didn't.

"Okay, I'm guessing. Cas should learn some appreciation to good music?" He pauses shortly. "I mean, the kind of music Dean calls good."

Gabe placed his index finger on his lips, grinning playfully. "I'm not gonna give it away."

"Okay, okay, I'll stop." Sam laughed and laid back in the grass. "This one is not supposed to be a challenge anyway."

"That was an buddhist meditation practice, right?" Sam asked curiously. "How come?"

Gabriel just shrugged. "Other religions have some good ideas from time to time."

"Like?" Sam prompted even more curiously now, poking at the pool of Gabriel's immense pool of knowledge like the geek he was.

"You know that buddha really looked like this ridiculous fat statues?" Gabe smiled.

"Really?" Sam laughed.

"Yeah! But his ears weren't as huge. The ears of the statues seemed to grow over the centuries..." he rambled on, talking with Sam about all the more and less important things about buddhism. Sam was surprised how many things he had taken for granted were completely wrong. Soon, they were in a deep theological discussion. Sometime between talking about the romans and the catholic church, Sam began to question.

"But why didn't you interfere more?" Sam asked. "If you didn't like so many things the catholic church did. Why didn't you guys do something against it?"

Gabe snorted. "I was long gone from home when Jesus came and all that catholic crap started. The others had orders not to interfere. Honestly, we don't care about how you guys name it as long as you're praying to the right god. All those dogmas and rules of your church are something you guys invented to keep your own kind in line. Don't think dad intended it."

"But" Sam started, struggling. "but he's the all-mighty!"

"Yeah", Gabe laughed with a bitter undertone to his voice. "All-mighty, but not all-brainy!"

Sam just stared for a moment, the indication of what Gabe just said slowly sinking in. He briefly wondered if Gabe was screwing him.

"But..." he started again. "The Infallible?"

"Dogma." It sounded so matter-of-factly, Sam had a hard time grasping it.

"You think he intended all that crap that's walking the earth? Maybe that's the reason he left. Maybe he thinks he screws up everything he touches."

Sam was silent, analysing this new bit of intel. He had a hard time wrapping his brain around it. But there was still the possibility that Gabriel was just joking around. Sam stayed silent for a while, thinking. His train of thought took him into another direction.

"Hey Gabe, what are the things that connect an angel to a certain vessel?" Sam asked curiously after a while.

"Similarities." Gabe answered simply.

"What kind?"

"Everything really. The whole package. Most of my vessels were blond, you know? And Achmed here, he was really a party-king before I highjacked him."

Sam laughed. "Your vessels name is Achmed?"

"What's wrong with Achmed?" Gabe prompted lightly. "Very popular name that place and time."

"Did you always have a male vessel?" Sam asked, and he didn't know why he was so curious about it.

Gabriel laughed. "You know where all those paintings of cheeky, gorgeous femme-Angels with blond curls come from? Yeah, that's me."

Sam had to chuckle at that. "It really makes no difference to you?"

"Exactly!" Gabe exclaimed, "Now you've got it! I bend both ways" he added with a waggle of his eyebrows.

"Okay" Sam stuttered, suddenly feeling embarrassed and blushing. They didn't talk for a moment, and Sam was glad Gabe didn't say anything that was even more awkward.

"So, looks are really important to?" Sam asked, again not knowing why he was so god damn curious about it.

"Yeah, of course!" Gabe quirked. "But Archie here doesn't even come near the real deal. My looks would burn your eyes out!"

And he waggled at Sam with his eyebrows.

Sam had to laugh again.

/-/

Dean felt so fucking good. There was one song after another, and with every new chord of the next song, Dean was cheering and whistling, bursting with anticipation for the next set. Cas briefly wondered where Dean took all that energy from. The time passed, and it was bliss in Dean's face the whole time. The music was all around him, drawing him in.

At one point, Dean sat down on a patch of grass next to Cas. He just needed a moment to catch his breath. On impulse, he closed his arms around Cas, drew him close and kissed him deeply. Cas wings fluttered a bit behind his back as Dean leaned in.

They were hidden in a crowd, and Dean didn't have one fucking care in the world. The people around them where happy and dancing and just genuinely friendly and no one bat an eye at the gay display. He pulled back suddenly, listening closely as Santana played another gorgeous perfect improvisation.

"You hear that, Cas? He's making love to the guitar!"

"I hope not." Cas remarked, disappointed from Dean's sudden withdrawal. "I do not think the guitar would approve."

Dean stared at him for a moment before he laughed.

"Cas, you've got no soul." Dean joked.

"True." Cas replied.

Dean laughed again.

Cas was watching Dean for another moment, but he wasn't fully content with the situation. Yes, he loved to see Dean like this. Happy, free and without a care in the world for what must be the first time in his life. It was tugging at Cas' heart, and he wanted Dean to enjoy this as much as possible. But... he also wanted more of that kiss.

"Dean, I'm getting tired."

Dean looked him up and down, and Cas really looked a little worse for wear. He had totally forgotten Cas could get tired in this weird world.

"Okay." he said with a little regret in his eyes. "Let's find a dry spot to lay down."

He took Cas by the hand to make sure he didn't loose him as they cut trough the crowd, but he didn't let go as they were out on the more open part of the field again. It was much too nice and warm in his. Not that he would ever admit that. They went along a line of trees, searching for a nice place to lay down. It was quieter here, but there were some sounds coming from the bushes. Dean grinned at that.

"Someone's getting lucky tonight."

They finally settled down under a large oak to protect them from the light rain that was coming and passing the whole day. It was one of the quieter spots. If there were couples in the bushes nearby, they were either finished or really silent. Both their hair was wet and sticking to their foreheads, and Dean suddenly realised it was the first time he saw Cas with wet hair. He moved his hand to carefully wipe a strand out of Cas' eyes. Cas was staring right at him again, his eyes dark with intent. There was no hint of tiredness at all.

"Sneaky, huh?" Dean asked, grinning.

The grass around them was high enough to protect them from sight. Suddenly, Dean found himself pushed down into the high grass, pinned down by Cas who was hovering over him with an intense expression on his face. Dean recognised the look. It was some odd combination of Cas' bad ass expression when he was just about to smite someone to kingdom come and something that looked like pure hunger. Cas was staring at him for a moment, just staring straight into his eyes with _that look_ on his face, and Dean was squirming under him, fighting for control because he just couldn't manage to stay still when Cas was looking at him _like that._

Cas leaned forward and pressed his lips onto Dean's. It was nothing like the first shy kisses they had shared, slow and learning. This was something completely different, filled with lust, passion and hunger, and Cas devoured Dean's mouth as if he was starving. He proved once more that he learned very quickly.

Dean had created a monster.

Dean was panting heavily as Cas released him again. Cas was pressing himself down on Dean, nuzzling his neck. Dean groaned low. But...

This was not the way he wanted to do this. Those idiotic, chick-flicky thoughts returned in full force. Cas was still a virgin. Dean didn't want to screw up. Also, he still didn't know how to do this. Not in the dirt, not in the crowd and most certainly not without lube.

"Easy, easy there tiger." he grinned and eased Cas a little off from him. Cas huffed disappointed and pouted.

"Sorry." Dean murmured and leaned over to kiss Cas in apology. "Not here, it wouldn't be good."

Cas expression became serious as he looked right into Dean's eyes.

"You are still afraid." the angel said. It was a statement, not a question.

Dean sighed deeply. How did Cas always manage that?

"You're a man." Dean pointed out, embarrassed.

"Is that a problem?" Cas replied, proving Dean's point with the low rumble of his voice.

"I just..." Dean paused. How do you say that you're fucking terrified of sex without saying it?

"I don't want to hurt you." he finally admitted, his voice so quiet it was barely audible.

And wow, that sounded sappy. Dean really hated himself right now. Hated this turmoil in his belly that made him nervous every time he looked at Cas. Hated the force of those chick-flicky thoughts that just didn't go away. And he hated feeling like a love sick teenager.

Cas smiled warmly and reached out to stroke his thump tenderly over Dean's cheek. Instead of an answer, he leaned over and kissed Dean softly. Dean closed his eyes contently, enjoying every bit of it and wrapping his arms around Cas. Cas seemed to understand that they didn't need to rush this. He seemed to be as content as Dean was with just laying there together, wrapped in each others arms. Cas rested his head on Dean's shoulder and closed his eyes, drifting into sleep. Dean stared down at the mop of dark hair on his shoulder in disbelieve. This all happened so fast. It was only two days ago that he kissed Cas for the first time, but it felt like he and Cas had this thing for way longer. He considered what he should do now, what he could do. How to deal with this freakish situation.

Eventually, after a long time of silent freaking out, Dean fell asleep also. It was good that he was wasted from a long day full of action and joy, or he probably would not have been able to fall asleep at all.

/-/

A/N: Okay guys, I'm really sorry for the enormous long wait between this chapter and the last. I'll try to be a good girl and update more regularly, but I need your help. The creative process is very hard if I don't get any response, so please leave me a review or better even - a review and a prompt!


	5. third challenge

**the beach**

**Title**: Zeus Apple, third challenge: the beach

**Author**: skiing_pelican

**Rating**: NC 17

**Genre: **Humor, crack, romance

**Pairing**: Dean/Cas, implied Sam/Gabriel or friendship if you're not into Sabriel

**Spoilers**: character spoilers for all mentioned; set somewhere in late season 5 but spoiler free

**Warnings**: crack, language, heavy abuse and butchering of mythology and pop culture;

**Word Count**: 5300

**Teaser**: Gabriel has his own ways of "helping" the Winchester brothers. One more cracky story where the boys have to put up with the overly productive fantasy of Gabriel. Dean/Castiel slash.

**This chapter:** Sunshine, sea and ASSets

**Authors note: **

Hey guys, thanks a lot for the new faves! But where are the reviews? And prompts? You can leave a prompt in your review, but it would be great if you head over to skiing-pelican(dot)livejournal(dot)com/2866(dot)html

Big thanks to **Mrs. Dr. Robert Chase **for her awesome review! I'm glad to see that my "old" followers are still reading!

There might be a lemon in next chapter if you are nice and review... or I might decide to tease you all a little bit longer. *g* And yeah, there's little Gabriel in this chapter, but there'll be more of him in next one, promise!

**Disclaimer:**

I just own their skirts.

To Masterpost and Promptpost

/-/

When they arrived back at the olymp, Dean asked to be sent to the next challenge without missing a beat. Sam didn't even had the time to decide wether to tease Dean about waking up cuddled to Cas _again_ or not. It could hardly be a coincidence anymore. Zeus clicked his mighty fingers, and they were standing on a sun flooded, typical american beach. Not one of those tourist beaches - it was a typical east cost beach, a bank of scorching hot white sand, heated up by the sun, old, disheveled wooden houses resting on pillars in a safe distance a few yards from the beach, each with it's own pier leading to the beach over the dry, long, green grasses. The ridiculously good looking life guard was driving by on quad bikes every now and then, and there was also a small vehicle of the turtle patrol standing abandoned on the side. A steady rumble of waves watched against the shore, and the beach was full of people enjoying the day.

"Let's jump in!" Dean suggested with a big grin.

"I don't know, with these on?" Sam asked, plucking on the shoulder piece of his toga. Suddenly, a bottle of sunscreen fell out the folds. Sam stared down at it surprised.

Dean laughed. "Sammy, you're a kangaroo now?"

"No." Sam said, bitch face firmly in place. "And I don't want to go swimming in the toga. I don't want to wear a sticky, salt-crusted, itching thing afterward."

"Nah, c'm on, Sammy, don't be a..."

Dean suddenly stopped mid sentence and stared down at his suddenly nude body. Except for the wine leaf that was sticking to his genitals. Again.

"BITCH! That's your fault, Samantha!"

Sam sighed. He was only dressed with a leaf to, and not too comfortable about it.

"I don't wanna have a _friggin'_ leaf glued to my balls!" Dean kept on whining.

"You know what, Dean? I'm gonna search for Gabriel. Maybe I can convince him to give us some clothes." Sam suggested.

"Oh, so that's where you're always off to?" Dean asked in an accusatory voice.

"No!" Sam lied, turning red. He didn't even know what was wrong with spending time with Gabriel. It wasn't like he'd have much else to do. But Dean still made him feel guilty no less.

"And what have you been doing the whole time then?" Dean asked angry.

"Just... trying to figure out how to help..." Sam stammered. "And it always looked like... y'know..."

"What?"

"Like you two needed some space." Sam closed. Bomb dropped. Sam braced himself for the inevitable explosion.

Dean turned away, but Sam noticed that the red flush in Dean's face changed from angry to embarrassed. ...and a little bit angry. At least, Dean wouldn't dare to call him on his disappearances anymore. Hopefully.

"Son of a bitch." Dean growled at nobody in particular.

"You know, I'm going now, try to find some clothes..."

Sam hurried away. He had to walk carefully to avoid to much of the scorching hot sand to slip into his sandals, but he knew his cue when to go.

Dean looked at Cas. Cas had waited out the brotherly banter calmly. Dean was a little bit disappointed that Cas was still wearing his short, white skirt.

Cas just stood there, staring down mesmerized at Dean's ass. Dean's stomach churned, sending heat through his whole body. How the hell could Cas do that with only looking at him?

"Cas?" Dean asked. Cas didn't react, still staring.

And no, Dean Winchester didn't do shy. But, the intensity of Cas' gaze on his ass was more than simple appreciation of good looks. Dean had the urge to take him, right here, but he felt as if he would rip out his heart and hand it over to Cas the moment he did it. It was terrifying. Besides, this was Cas... here was not good enough.

"Cas, are you staring at my ass?" Dean asked.

Cas eyes traveled up and locked with his. "Yes." he announced simply.

Cas still had the same intensity in his gaze and his eyes dropped again to land firmly on Dean's ass. Dean arched a brow.

"Like what you see?" he asked suggestively.

"Yes." Cas answered. His eyes came back to lock on Dean, the blush on his cheeks deepened. Dean's gaze dropped to Cas' slightly parted lips. They looked so soft and pink and inviting...

Dean stepped up to Cas, cupped his face in his hands and captured those full lips with his own. Cas made a little appreciative sound at the back of his throat. It vibrated deliciously within Dean, going right into his groin.

Dean pulled back, locking his gaze with the blue eyes.

"Do you even know what your little sounds do to me?" Dean asked huskily. Cas smiled this little shy smile of his, but his eyes where sparkling with joy.

"I know now." the angel murmured. And fuck, his voice was even deeper and breathier than normal. Pure sex. Cas' voice was pure sex.

Cas leaned in, resting his chest against Dean's and his lips hovering close over Dean's cheek. Dean could feel the little puffs of breath against his skin. He was getting goose bumps. Cas' lips traveled further, always not quite touching, and Dean itched so hard to feel those soft lips on him. Cas paused at Dean's ear and fucking _purred._ Dean felt the vibrations through their joined chests, it made all the hair on Dean's body stand up in anticipation. Cas was completely scrambling his brain. His whole body was tingling.

"Fucking _tease._" Dean breathed and pulled at Cas' hair to look at him. Cas was gorgeous with his flushed face and lips and the happy sparkle in the huge, dilated eyes... Fuck. He was so whipped.

"Fuck, Cas." he sighed. He leaned in to rest his forehead against Cas' and listened to their combined breathing. He had to calm down. They were not alone on this beach, Sam could come back any moment and he was surprised his erection had not teared the leaf by now. Cas moved slowly, brushing their noses together. This little touch felt so intense and intimate in it's own way, and that was a completely new sensation to Dean. He was not used to intimate and it was terrifying to him.

Dean was still trying to calm the fuck down, but his own hand moved up on it's own accord and brushed his thumb tenderly over the stubble on Cas' jaw. Cas leaned into the touch, purring again quietly. The breath and the purr against his cheek sent another shiver down his body. Cas tilted his head, trying experimentally to reach Dean's stubbled jaw with his lips, but Dean pulled back.

"Cas..." Dean said pleadingly, looking into those blue eyes again. Cas frowned, his eyes big and sad.

"Dean, what is wrong?" he asked softly. It must be confusing for him. Dean could see what he was doing to Cas. That Cas wanted him as bad as he wanted Cas. And fuck, if that didn't make it worse to resist. He was feeling like a dick. Cas was so fucking hot, he could feel the angel's erection press against his leg. And Cas had no idea why Dean pulled back again and again although he wanted it so badly.

"Cas, look around us." Dean just said. Cas left his eyes for a moment and surveyed the area. Understanding dawned on his face. A typical american family had their beach camp set out a little further down the beach and tried very hard to ignore their public display.

Cas looked up at him again and they just stood there and stared at each other for several long moments.

"We so need to find a room." Dean said finally, because fuck dates, fuck wooing, they were way beyond that stage anyway. And wasn't that huge? Cas had been a virgin for fucking millennia, and now, after all that time, he was falling for _him_. And even if Dean didn't take him to dates or do other stupid chick-flick-stuff with him, he would be good for him. He wouldn't hurt him. He would make it right for him and he was sure about it because... because... well, fuck _that._ Only thinking about it made his head swim and his breath hitch.

He should be freaking out about this. Really, he should. But he did freak out about it already and since then, he just couldn't resist anymore. It felt so fucking right. But still terrifying at the same time. Okay, so maybe, he was freaking out a little.

Cas smiled shyly. Something melted in Dean at that sight. God, he was turning into a huge sap. If his balls weren't painfully blue right now, he would have to check if they were still there. Dean's right hand reached down and curled his fingers around Cas, squeezing lightly.

"Let's go take a swim." he said and pulled Cas behind him into the ocean.

/-/

The ocean water felt like ice against their overheated skin. Dean dunk in fully, enjoying the water. It had been a long time since he last had the opportunity to swim in the ocean. And the coldness of the water made a good job of cooling off his erection. Dean playfully splashed water at Cas, but regretted it instantly as the wings proved to be the doomsday weapon of this game, splashing waves of water onto Dean. Dean sputtered and coughed out the salty water while he had to laugh at Cas' childish reaction. He hadn't expected Cas to strike back. Cas was instantly floating right in front of him.

"Dean, are you alright?" he asked worried.

"'m all right." Dean managed to spill out between chuckles and coughs of water.

Cas still looked worried, but Dean smiled as he finally got rid of all the water in his mouth.

"I'm all right, Cas, really, don't worry." he reassured his angel. It was cute, actually, how worried Cas was about this little thing.

"I asked for it anyway." he grinned. Then he jumped up, pressed his hands down on Cas head and dunked him into the water while crying out, "Revenge!"

Cas didn't even struggle. Dean waited, but Cas didn't struggle. Dean let go and Cas still stayed under water. Now Dean was worried. Trying not to panic, he reached down and pulled Cas out of the water.

"That was interesting." the angel stated.

"This is no fun with you." Dean accused, pouting slightly. Cas looked up at him, a solemn expression on his face. Dean sobered up immediately, the pout falling from his lips.

"Dean, thank you."

"For what?" Dean asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"I never experienced water like this." Cas elaborated. "It is pleasant."

Dean smiled. And he was glad that Cas was the only one right now who could see his idiotic, dopey smile. Damn, the angel made him feel like a teenager with his first crush. In a way, Cas was his first - his first crush on a guy.

"You know, I'm kinda glad you get to see the better sides of human life." Dean said.

Fuck. Had he just admitted he _liked_ the stupid challenges?

But he had to admit, he did enjoy them so far. Mostly. He was still didn't like to be punched by Jesus.

Cas pulled back, a playful smile on his face and he splashed another load of water against Dean, this time only using his arms.

"You son of a bitch!" Dean shouted, grinning like mad, and lunging forward to chase Cas, but Cas could swim insanely fast when he was using his wings as paddles. So unfair. Dean would be getting him anyway.

/-/

Sam found Gabriel after a while of searching,. He was sitting on one of the wooden structures that allowed the life guard to observe the whole beach from above. He was wearing flashing red swimming pants and Sam's eyes were weirdly drawn to the little patch of golden curls that were exposed again on Gabe's naked chest.

"Hey tiny." Gabe grinned and winked down at him. He took a red lollipop out of his mouth and extended it to Sam.

"Want one?"

Sam stared irritated at the lolly for a second. Yeah, he had reason to be irritated when Gabriel offered him the lolly that just had been in his own mouth.

"No." Sam said steadily, looking up again. Gabriel shrugged and put the lolly back into his mouth.

"Your bad."

"Gabriel, I need a favor."

"Oh? Shoot!" Gabriel replied, arching a surprised eyebrow.

"We want some clothes." Sam said straight out, crossing his arms.

"Why?" Gabe asked and wiggled his eyebrows. "I think you look good in nature!"

"Come on, Gabe!" Sam groaned.

Gabe grinned playfully. "Okay, okay. Just this one time, okay?"

A stack of pink towels and three short skirts materialised in front of Sam. The skirts looked exactly like the one Cas was wearing. And that meant almost no coverage at all. Sam wondered if the skirt would be able to hide the full swell of his ass. Sam looked up at the archangel contemplating.

"What?" Gabriel asked. "You're lucky that I interfere that much. Zeus doesn't like people messing with his plans."

"Yeah, Zeus, right." Sam replied. "Okay, thanks, I guess. See ya."

Sam trotted back, the wheels in his head turning. Why was Gabriel really keeping him around? He was obviously more in Dean and Cas way than any help. Did Gabe just like messing with him, or was there something more?

Dean and Cas were just coming out of the ocean as he reached the spot on the beach were he left them. They were walking real close, playfully nudging against each other from time to time. Both were smiling happily, and Dean's expression was so open like Sam hadn't seen him in like... he didn't even know when. Thankfully, Dean didn't notice that he was watching until they reached the dry sand and by then Sam was innocently looking in a different direction as if he was looking for them.

"Hey Sam." Dean said while gripping with a shockingly ice cold hand to the back of Sam's sun overheated neck. Sam jolted away.

"Dean you jerk!" he exclaimed, but Dean only snickered.

"Figures you bring girly towels." Dean teased, but took them out of Sam's hand anyway and passed one to Cas.

"I didn't exactly have much choice." Sam replied.

"How cold is it?" Sam asked, nodding at the sea.

"So cold." Dean replied and held his hand up, holding an inch of air between his thumb and index finger.

"Your such a jerk." Sam replied, wrinkling his face in disgust.

"I don't understand." Cas inquired, frowning at Dean's fingers.

Dean grinned. "I bet little Cas is about this big right now."

"Ugh, Dean!" Sam complained loudly and headed off. "I'm going for a swim now." he announced, already with his back to the other two.

Cas still had no idea what Dean was talking about.

Dean would never admit it, but he was glad for the huge girly brain in Sam's head. Despite his earlier outburst, he was glad that Sam kept walking away from them, giving them some time.

"Look Cas, spread the towel on the sand. It's much more comfortable to lie down on the towel than on the sand." Dean said, spreading his towel in the sand after he had toweled himself dry and slipped on the white skirt. And yeah, he hated it, but it was better than nothing. Better than a leaf for sure. The friggin' thing had stayed glued to his balls even in the sea. It only came off when he had something else around his hips.

Cas watched as Dean sprawled out on his towel. He put down his own towel right next to Dean, and sat down on it, not leaving an inch between the two. Dean didn't complain and smiled lazily at his friend.

"You gonna get one hell of a sunburn." Dean suddenly realised and remembered the tube of sunscreen. He found it in the sand nearby and sat down on the towel next to Cas, squeezing some of it on his fingers.

Cas looked up at him with arched eyebrows.

"Just enjoy." Dean grinned and pushed Cas down with a hand on his shoulder. He started massaging the sunscreen into Cas' skin. Cas relaxed, closed his eyes and let out a content sigh. Dean was weirdly delighted as he mapped out the swell and dips of Cas body, slowly and gently trailing his hands over every inch, rubbing in the sunscreen. Dean started with his chest and couldn't resist leaning down and pressing a kiss to Cas' collarbone and one to his neck as his hands traveled over it. Then he gently worked on Cas' shoulders and his long, slender arms, taking his time to explore every bit of Cas' skin. He returned to Cas' belly after that, feeling the hard muscle of his abs below the smooth, soft skin. His hands traveled over the dark hair that was trailing down from his navel. He slipped his fingers just a little under Cas's skirt, spreading cream there in case the skirt moved down. Dean had to hold back the urge to dip down just a litlle bit more. It would be so easy to drag this little white thing off.

Dean didn't know he could be so turned on by muscles. Besides, Cas body had curve, just not in the same way a woman had. The swell of his ass just asked to be grabbed and squeezed and manhandled. Such a shame that it always had been hidden behind all those layers. Their little trip here was more than a little eye opening.

Reluctantly, Dean moved off from Cas hips and started working up his legs, from the toes up. He hesitated as he reached the edge of the skirt, rubbing the sunscreen just a little further under the skirt before he stopped himself from reaching under it completely to touch that little bulge between Cas' legs that kept growing with his touches.

He pulled up then, applying more sunscreen to Cas' face and his ears, his fingers caressing it even more carefully before he leaned down to press a kiss to Cas' forehead, his nose and finally those delicious soft lips. Cas opened his eyes as Dean pulled back smiled up at him, a little shy, but his eyes were sparkling.

"Turn over." Dean said huskily. He didn't even mean to sound so seductively, but Cas was doing things to him that he couldn't even control his voice anymore. Cas rolled over obediently, crossed his arms in front of his head and rested his face on them. Dean started to work on Cas' backside with the same tender attention. When he was done and looked down at Cas, so completely relaxed and content, the curve of his ass reaching out into the air, Dean couldn't resist touching it anymore. One of his hands traveled under the white fabric, feeling the soft skin, cupping one of Cas' cheeks with his hand and squeezed experimentally.

Cas moaned softly and his shoulders tensed slightly. Cas turned his head to look up at Dean with huge, dilated pupils.

"Kiss me." the angel growled. "Now."

Dean swallowed. Bossy Cas was a huge turn on. It was shutting Dean's brain off. Dean had no chance to deny that voice anything. So he leaned down to capture Cas' lips. Their position was a bit awkward, but it didn't matter, Cas tasted just to friggin' good. They kissed passionately until Dean had to break off for air, breathing heavily.

"Fuck, why are we still on the friggin' beach?" Dean cursed. There were just to many people, and Sam was still out there somewhere in the water. Cas smirked. Dean laid down on the towel next to Cas, laying on his side. Cas propped his head up on one arm and they stayed like this, staring at each other with intensity. The whole time, Dean fantasised about the tings he could do to Cas, what he could show him.

All of a sudden, the thought of a dick in his mouth didn't sound so gross at all. When it was Cas' dick...

Of course, he still was more than nervous about all this. But, he was going to figure it out. With Cas. They didn't need to go the whole way immediately, did they? He wouldn't love him and leave him... No, he would love him, and then love him again, and then love him some more. And god only knows what came after that. Dean didn't want to think about it too much. But, he made a silent vow that he would not screw this up for once. Dean licked his lips in anticipation. Cas eyes followed the movement, and now the angel was staring at his lips.

They didn't really made a good job of laying innocently at the beach.

"I think I need to cool off a little." Dean said reluctantly and sat up. "Wanna join me?"

Cas nodded, and together, they went back into the ocean. Sam waved at them as he saw them coming.

_Sam, Sam, Sam._ Dean repeated in his head over and over. His bother was a good little cock block and by the time they reached him in the water, he had managed to will his erection away. The coldness had helped. Sam and Dean started splashing water and fighting each other, trying to dip each other under the water. They chased around until they were all tired and Sam complained loudly that it was so unfair that Cas' was teaming up with Dean while he was alone. Cas lazily splashed a little more water against Sam, earning another loud complaint.

"Be glad he didn't use his wings!" Dean grinned.

After that, they let themselves drift in the water, although they had to swim against the tide now and then to avoid getting washed away to far from their spot on the beach. Dean taught Cas how to play dead man. Cas splayed out the full span of his wings, and he drifted over the water like a raft.

"That is so awesome" Dean grinned big and goofy, getting a snort from Sam for this display.

After a while, they were all so tired that they crawled out of the water and collapsed onto their towels. Dean didn't say anything as Cas cuddled up to him, sneaking an arm around Dean's waist and holding on to him. Dean's own arm wrapped around Cas's shoulders so that the dark head could come to rest comfortably on Dean's shoulder.

Sam grinned gleefully over at them, and Dean glared back darkly. Sam didn't say anything, although he was very tempted. But the huge girl he was, he didn't want to ruin the moment and turned his head to the other side, still grinning widely. Dean finally closed his eyes and simply enjoyed the warmth of the sun, warmth of Cas against him, the steady rhythm of Cas' breath.

It felt like laying there for hours, but far not long enough as Sam's damned voice woke him from the half-state of his slumber.

"Hey Dean."

"Yeah Sam?" Dean replied sleepily.

"There must be a party somewhere."

"A party?"

"Yeah. There always is a party, isn't there? I saw a beach bar a little further down, maybe we should go there."

"Hm." Dean acknowledged.

"Your theory fits the pattern." Cas murmured. Cas, too, sounded a bit sleepy, and his voice was close, so close.

There was a beat of silence.

"You wanna go now?" Sam inquired a bit impatiently.

Damn the sasquatch. This was way to comfy, but it seemed Sam wouldn't let him sleep some more.

"Okay." Dean grumped, a little more harshly than necessary and yawned loudly. Cas sat up, moving out of his arms, and he was missing the contact immediately. Damn him, he was really turning into a huge sap.

Dean slowly stood up and stretched, yawned some more and moved so slowly that Sam started impatiently tapping with his foot. Then he fell into step between Sam and Cas, abandoning their towels behind them. Cas hand closed around his. Dean looked down a little surprised, up at Cas and smiled slightly, lacing their fingers together. He just hoped Sam wouldn't see it. He was never going to admit he actually liked that.

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The bar was little more than a colorful painted wooden booth on an old pier, but there where wooden tables and stools around, music was coming out of speakers and there was a space where some people where dancing in their swimwear. Most people had cocktails in their hands, but Dean would never get caught with such a girly thing in his hands.

"Two beer and the most girly drink you've got for the sasquatch here." Dean ordered.

Sam, of course, bitch faced him.

"Hey Dean, don't you think Cas might want to try something else?" Sam asked, grabbing a list of the cocktails from the counter and handed it to Cas. Dean hesitated.

"No, you wouldn't want such a thing?" he said, arching his brow a little unsure. Cas studied the list with concentration, as if it held all the old secrets of the world. Suddenly, Cas brows reached the hairline and his eyes grew big and shocked.

"The amount of iniquity amongst humans is disconcerting." he said, sounding almost frightened. Dean laughed and plucked the card out of Cas' hand.

"Sex on the beach is a drink, Cas." Dean grinned knowingly. "And a girly one. Nothing you would want."

Cas relaxed again and took Dean's word for it. Sam frowned.

"Cas, you know you shouldn't trust everything he says?"

Cas looked up at him curiously. "Why would you say that, Sam?"

By now, the drinks had arrived. Sam took one of the beers for himself and handed Cas the bluish drink in the tall glass. It looked like a swimming pool, but Sam would never, ever admit in front of his brother he could tell what drink it was.

Cas sipped at it and his eyes went wide in appreciation. "This is good." he stated.

Dean groaned loudly. "Great Sam, thank you, now I have two girls to drag around."

Cas attention returned to Dean. "I have no gender." he said calm and solemn.

Dean chocked on his beer.

"Shit, Cas, don't say stuff like that!" he exclaimed bewildered. And Sam, the bitch, laughed. Cas tilted his head curiously, confused by Dean's outburst.

"You're a man." Dean announced, poking Cas' ribs. "At least, while you're in there."

Dean suddenly stilled, his eyes widening in horror.

"Jimmy's not in there, is he?" he asked.

"I'm afraid Jimmy died." Cas replied, sadly dropping his gaze to the floor. He looked miserable.

"Shit, Cas, I'm sorry." Dean said. And he really was, if it was bad for Cas. But his selfish side was immensely relieved at the same time. Cas said nothing, his eyes still at the floor. Sam, next to him, mouthed something at Dean.

_What?_ Dean mouthed back.

_Hug him!_ Sam mouthed back and made hugging gestures behind Cas' back. Dean glared at Sam, Sam glared back, bitch facing him again. Dean looked at Cas, who sighed and looked up again, rubbing his thump thoughtfully over the condensate on his glass. With one last glare that clearly told Sam that he would kill him if he ever mentioned this, he stepped up to Cas and closed his arms around him.

"'m sorry." he murmured again and pressed a soft kiss into the angels hair. And he didn't care that Sam saw it. Sam watched smirking and Dean glared at him some more for good measure.

"It's okay, Dean." Cas said calmly and pulled back, a thankful little smile on his lips. And Dean just had to smile back.

"We're going to introduce you to cocktails tonight." Sam announced, completely shattering the tenderness of the moment between Dean and Cas. And if the smirk on his face was anything to go by, he knew what he did.

"You don't have to drink them all up, they're free anyway." Sam continued on. Could anyone blame Dean if he hated his little brother right now?

"I'm just going to get one of each and you can drink what you like best. You go find a place to sit down."

And with that, he pushed at Dean and Cas' back to get them off the bar. Dean and Cas headed to a table at the end of the pier where they could look out at the sea and the sinking sun. They spoke quietly with each other until Sam arrived with a gleeful grin and a full tray of different cocktails.

As it turned out, drunk Cas equaled horny Cas. Dean turned a deep shade of red as he had to fight of travelling hands. Sam had a way too good time laughing his ass off about it. But Dean was getting really embarrassed. It didn't help that it sounded way to chick-flicky when he admitted to himself that he wanted Cas to be sober and fully there when he touched him the first time at the more private parts.

Admittedly, the drunk grabby hands where kinda cute and endearing. But not sexy, oh no.

"Cas, damn it!" Dean cursed and held both Cas' hands tightly at his wrist as the angel's hands had tried to reach under his skirt again. Sam was doubling over with laughter by now.

Cas turned huge, pouting, kicked puppy dog eyes at him. This was just not fair.

"Dean, please." Cas slurred, and his huge blue eyes looked so immensely sad.

"That's it, you've had enough." Dean concluded and stood up, dragging Cas with him. Cas knees where wobbling and he held onto Dean for support. Dean guided them back to the towels and laid Cas down to rest. The angel was out cold almost immediately. Dean couldn't hold back a fond little smile and amused shake of his head, before he laid down next to him and closed his eyes.

Sam trailed after not much later, laying down in his own towel. They both expected to wake up in the clouds of the olymp.

_And what was the challenge?_ Sam pondered before he drifted to sleep. Maybe the cocktails, maybe enjoying water. Cas had had a good time, and that was what the challenges were about, right? This fit right in with wine tasting and dancing sessions. So he was pretty sure they passed it.

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End file.
